The Hurt Locker

National injury database Top 10 key findings (2006 to present)

* Two out of every three players on a team will get injured at least once in a season.

* Over one third of players will have more than one injury per season.

* Up to a quarter of injuries will be a recurrence of an old injury.

* Over half of injuries will be during a match whilst over one third are sustained intraining.

* Lower limb injuries are the most prevalent (football 76.3%, hurling 69%). Concussions represent less than 1% of total.

* Cruciate ligament (ACLs) injuries are 1.1% in football and 1.4% in hurling. Both contact and landing are the most common causes of such injuries, each making up 34.8%.

* The most common injury among Gaelic players is a thigh injury — 32.7% of all injuries in football and 23.4% in hurling.

* In hurling, most injuries are caused by contact (37.6%) and it’s the same in football (29.8%), which is slightly higher than sprinting (28.9%).

* Most football injuries in matches are likely to occur in the third quarter (35.8%). In hurling, the majority of match-related injuries occurs in the second half (31.5% third quarter, 31.4% fourth quarter).

* The average length of time it takes to recover from a fresh hamstring injury is 18.5 days for a footballer and 19 for a hurler. For a recurrent injury, it is 20 days for a footballer and again 19 for a hurler.