Description of the final seven themes
| Themes | Summary of content | |
| The player’s physical and motor skill profile | ||
| No. of statements (%) | 13 (13.3) | Muscle strength deficit or strength asymmetry, both in general and muscle-specific (hip external rotators and hamstring muscles), together with insufficient neuromuscular control of the knee, were prominent aspects. Soft tissue (eg, ligaments, menisci) weakness and instability, together with movement patterns or non-automatised activation patterns leading to uneven knee loadings, were also aspects of this theme. |
| Importance of screening, median (range)* | 3 (2–3) | |
| Screening feasibility, median (range)* | 2 (1–3) | |
| Preparation and training | ||
| No. of statements (%) | 27 (27.6) | Limited, wrong or no implementation of injury prevention were prominent aspects. Lack of warm-up and insufficient recovery after injury/illness, nutrition and intake of pain medication before playing together with too high training and match intensity/frequency, especially among young players, were also aspects of this theme. |
| Importance of screening, median (range)* | 3 (2–4) | |
| Screening feasibility, median (range)* | 3 (1–3) | |
| Footwear and playing surface | ||
| No. of statements (%) | 18 (18.4) | The combination of specific footwear and specific playing surfaces was crucial. One highlighted scenario was the fixation of football boots on particularly artificial grass, leading to knee/ankle twisting. Other aspects were slippery or uneven playing surfaces. |
| Importance of screening, median (range)* | 3 (2–3) | |
| Screening feasibility, median (range)* | 3 (3–4) | |
| The sport’s impact on the risk of injury | ||
| No. of statements (%) | 14 (14.3) | Sport-specific issues such as contact/non-contact pushes/collisions and unforeseen events/movements were prominent aspects. The specialisation of young players was too early, and limited player experience was also highlighted. |
| Importance of screening, median (range)* | 3 (2–3) | |
| Screening feasibility, median (range)* | 2 (1–4) | |
| Mental and physical fatigue | ||
| No. of statements (%) | 12 (12.2) | Mental and physical fatigue in general and due to overloading of matches/training, insufficient restitution or sleep and imbalanced recovery/exposure were prominent aspects. |
| Importance of screening, median (range)* | 3 (2–4) | |
| Screening feasibility, median (range)* | 2 (1–3) | |
| History of injury | ||
| No. of statements (%) | 5 (5.1) | Previous injuries and minor injuries (all types) were a prominent aspect. |
| Importance of screening, median (range)* | 3 (3–4) | |
| Screening feasibility, median (range)* | 3 (2–4) | |
| Genetics and context | ||
| No. of statements (%) | 9 (9.2) | Genetics, genetic susceptibility, sex, age, biology, physiology, anatomy, social context and societal expectations of females (adorable rather than muscular) were prominent aspects. |
| Importance of screening, median (range)* | 2 (2–3) | |
| Screening feasibility, median (range)* | 2 (1–4) | |
*Note. The medians (range) are calculated based on median values of ratings of the importance of screening and screening feasibility for each statement within each theme, and the range values represent the lowest and highest median values, respectively, for the statements of the theme.