Expert discusses common soccer injuries and how to treat them
MERRIMACK. 93 FROM THE STATE LINE TO MANCHESTER. ALSO MOVING WELL. THE WORLD CUP IS BRINGING RENEWED ATTENTION TO SOCCER, MAYBE EVEN INSPIRING MORE ADULTS AND KIDS TO KICK AROUND A BALL. BUT SOCCER IS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST PHYSICALLY DEMANDING SPORTS IN THE WORLD. DOCTOR ROBERT F DAVIS IS AN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON AND SPORTS MEDICINE SPECIALIST WITH SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE HEALTH. HE’S LIVE WITH US TODAY. DOCTOR DAVIS, GREAT TO SEE YOU. NICE TO BE HERE. SO FULL DISCLOSURE MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN A LIFELONG SOCCER PLAYER. SHE PLAYED STRAIGHT THROUGH COLLEGE. SO INJURIES LEFT AND RIGHT ALMOST ON A CONSTANT BASIS WITH HER. SOMEBODY ON HER TEAM, CONCUSSIONS, TENDONS CAN GET TORN. THERE ARE SPRAINS. THERE ARE FRACTURES. I MEAN, SOCCER REALLY IS A TOUGH SPORT. IT DEFINITELY HAS RISKS LIKE A LOT OF SPORTS. AND IT’S IT’S A LOT ROUGHER THAN MOST PEOPLE THINK. SO COMMON INJURIES WHEN YOU’RE TALKING SOCCER. AND THIS IS EVERY AGE INVOLVED ANKLES BUT KNEES. I BET YOU SEE A LOT OF PATIENTS COMING IN WITH DAMAGE TO THEIR KNEES, EITHER IN AN EVENT DURING A GAME OR SUSTAINED SUSTAINED DAMAGE, PERHAPS DONE OVER TIME. THE LIFE OF THEIR CAREER KNEES ARE A BIG PROBLEM WITH SOCCER PLAYERS. MOST DEFINITELY. LOWER EXTREMITY IN GENERAL, A LOT OF ANKLE SPRAINS, BUT A LOT OF KNEE INJURIES TOO. AND SOMETIMES THE KNEE INJURIES CAN BE MORE SERIOUS THAN SOME OF THE OTHER INJURIES, LIKE ANKLE SPRAINS. SO WHEN YOU’RE DEALING SPECIFICALLY WITH KNEES, IT’S A COMMON TO HAVE SURGERIES UNFORTUNATELY GO ALONG WITH REPAIR OF THE KNEES. SO WHAT ARE YOU SAYING IF SOMEONE IS AN ACL OR AN MCL? SOMETIMES BOTH. IT’S MORE COMMON THAN NOT. AM I RIGHT THAT A SURGERY IS PROBABLY NECESSARY TO GET THEM BACK OUT ONTO THE TO THE FIELD TO PLAY? SO FOR ACL OR ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT TEARS, THAT’S ABSOLUTELY THE TRUTH. THOSE LIGAMENTS TEND NOT TO HEAL VERY WELL ON THEIR OWN, AND PARTICULARLY IN TEENAGERS AND YOUNGER ADULTS ALMOST ALWAYS END UP IN SURGERY. MC OR MEDIAL COLLATERAL LIGAMENT INJURIES ACTUALLY, PARTICULARLY IF THEY’RE ISOLATED INJURIES MORE COMMONLY DO NOT NEED SURGERY AND WILL HEAL PRETTY WELL ON THEIR OWN. AND WHEN YOU COMBINE AN ACL AND AN MCL, THAT JUST INCREASES THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SITUATION AND SURGERY MAY BE MORE NECESSARY. SO IF YOU’RE COMING BACK FROM A SURGERY OR SAY YOU’RE A SOCCER PLAYER, COMING BACK FROM AN INJURY, YOU MIGHT MISS PART OF YOUR SEASON OR EVEN LONGER, PARTICULARLY AS YOU WERE MENTIONING, THERE’S SURGERY INVOLVED THERE, ESPECIALLY. SO WHAT DO YOU AS A DOCTOR FOR A PATIENT? WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING FOR AFTER AN INJURY OR SURGERY THAT TELLS YOU THAT THE ATHLETE IS READY TO SLOWLY GET BACK INTO THE GAME? AND WHAT’S THE PROCESS THERE? WELL, REALLY, IT DEPENDS A LOT ON THE ON THE INJURY, WHETHER SOMETHING HAD TO BE REPAIRED OR NOT IN TERMS OF HOW LONG THE RECOVERY IS GOING TO BE. FOR INSTANCE, WITH AN ACL TEAR, MOST COMMONLY PATIENTS ARE GOING TO BE OUT OF PLAYING SOCCER FOR 9 TO 12 MONTHS. VERY COMMONLY FOR OTHER INJURIES LIKE AN MCL SPRAIN, THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET BACK IN SIX WEEKS WITH THE WITH THE POST-OPERATIVE REHAB. IT JUST DEPENDS ON HOW THEY’RE PROGRESSING WITH THEIR RANGE OF MOTION, OF THEIR KNEE. AND A LOT OF IT DEPENDS ON HOW THEIR STRENGTH IS. STRENGTH TESTING IS A BIG COMPONENT OF DETERMINING RETURN TO PLAY. OKAY, WE KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO KEEP AN ATHLETE HEALTHY. AND THESE SOCCER INJURIES TEND TO PILE UP. SO THANK YOU FOR HELPING US UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT YOUR PART IS IN GETTING THESE ATHLET
Expert discusses common soccer injuries and how to treat them
Updated: 1:42 PM EDT Jun 22, 2026
VIDEO: Dr. Robert Davis, an orthopedic surgeon with Southern New Hampshire Health, discusses common soccer injuries and how to treat them.
VIDEO: Dr. Robert Davis, an orthopedic surgeon with Southern New Hampshire Health, discusses common soccer injuries and how to treat them.