The varying quality of training and sports science facilities across A-League clubs is causing a gulf between teams, with the release of the inaugural injury report by the PFA revealing that the most successful sides have the best injury records.
PFA, the players' union, has complied a record of injuries suffered in the A-League over the first five seasons of the competition and has taken a survey of players concerns around injuries, with 36 per cent saying they were unhappy with the level of medical facilities and personnel at their clubs.
Knee injuries contributed to 35 per cent of the total injury toll for the 2009-10 season, with a further 39 per cent of injuries classified as soft-tissue. PFA believes that many of these injuries could have been prevented with a better approach to both preparation of training grounds and medical resourcing.
"The report raises some important questions, and there's no doubt that training facilities are one of them," PFA chief executive Brendan Schwab said.
"We surveyed our members and not all are happy with two aspects of their playing environment. The first one is the playing surfaces and the second is the degree of medical care that are on hand to supervise the training sessions so that in the event of an injury, the best possible aid can be provided initially."
A-League players missed a combined 299 matches through knee injuries last year with North Queensland Fury and Melbourne Victory having seven players between them suffering ACL injuries.
Schwab said the prevalence of serious knee injuries could be a result of hard surfaces for training.
"We do wonder if there's a relationship between continued training on hard playing surfaces and then any predisposition that may raise in terms of a knee injury," he said.
Melbourne Victory's three ACL injuries last season all occurred at Etihad Stadium and Schwab said that while Victory will only play five matches at the ground this year, the PFA remains concerned,
"There's no doubt it's the worst playing surface in the league, particularly after the concert window of later in the year. Melbourne Victory will have to make some serious decisions where they play because AAMI Park is rated the best field in the competition."
Apart from issues surrounding the Etihad Stadium surface, Melbourne Victory have had the best injury record of any of the foundation clubs, particularly in those years it won the championship.
"Melbourne Victory have clearly set the standard. Their injury rate has been quite remarkable. In their championship winning years, only 12 games were missed in 2006-07 and only 25 in 2008-09. That's a huge advantage when you have a salary cap but also fixed rosters of 23 players," he said.
Last year's champions Sydney (53) and third-placed Wellington (35) had by far the best record in terms of injuries last week, with Schwab pointing to that as evidence that teams which invest in their sports science will be rewarded.
"We believe in a competition which boasts competitive balance. The off-field investment should encourage the clubs to get whatever competitive advantage they can," he said.
"Every club has to spend $2 million on its payroll and if the club doesn't nurture that then that money that is wasted. Every club has the same financial and sporting incentives in order to look after their players," he said.
PFA also quantified the money lost by club's because of injury in terms of player wages. The cost of North Queensland's injury crisis in their inaugural year was put at over $700,000.
"North Queensland trailed last year, but we think they-ve learned their lessons from that," Schwab said. "Whilst FFA is running that club, there is certainly a much better high performance environment around the players than there was last year."
As a measure of comparison it is estimated that Melbourne Victory's injuries have cost them under $250,000 a season on average while Wellington is just $168,000.