Match running performance upon return to play in professional male LaLiga football players following anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of an anterior cruciate ligament rupture on the level of competition and match running performance over the following three seasons after return-to-play in professional male football players. Fifty-one football players from LaLiga who sustained a complete anterior cruciate ligament rupture were retrospectively followed over the three seasons after their return-to-play. Their level of competition and match running performance metrics were obtained via Mediacoach® and subsequently compared across different time points: (1) PRE (season before injury); (2) INJ (season of the anterior cruciate ligament rupture); and (3) POST1, (4) POST2, and (5) POST3 (first, second, and third seasons after returning-to-play). Outcomes were analysed overall, by field position and by age group (≤ 25 and > 25 years). By the POST3 season following the anterior cruciate ligament injury, 35 of the 51 players (68.5%) were still competing in one of the top five UEFA leagues (34 in LaLiga and 1 in another top-five league), 11 (21.6%) were playing in lower-tier leagues, and 5 (9.8%) had retired. Maximum running speed decreased at POST1 and POST2 (p < 0.050) compared with PRE. Only players > 25 years experienced a significant decrease in their maximum running speed during POST2 and POST3 (p < 0.050) in comparison with PRE-values. A complete anterior cruciate ligament rupture in football from LaLiga players led to a decline in the level of competition and reductions in their maximum running speed up to three seasons after return-to-play. Players > 25 years were more vulnerable to sustain performance losses.