Always the best XI: Chelsea lost the second-fewest days to injury in the Premier League

Chelsea had one of the Premier League’s most stable starting XI’s. The Blues’ sports medicine and strength & conditioning staff made it possible for Antonio Conte always to have his best XI available.

Chelsea have long had one of the Premier League’s top staff for injury prevention and rehabilitation, going back to the days of struggling to keep Arjen Robben uninjured and match ready. Their commitment to sports medicine and strength and conditioning has been a behind-the-scenes secret to the Blues’ sustained success. This season was no different.

Chelsea lost the second-fewest days to significant injuries – 10 days or more – in the Premier League. Only West Bromwich Albion had a better track record. Unsurprisingly, West Bromwich Albion had a similarly stable and regular starting XI. West Brom used only 23 players over the season, while Chelsea used 24. Both clubs had 11 players with over 2000 minutes.

The Blues dealt with 20 significant injuries this season, totaling 358 lost days. Nine of those significant injuries were to John Terry, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Branislav Ivanovic and Mikel John Obi. Given that those four combined for 28 appearances – only 12 of which were starts – their lost time had minimal impact on Antonio Conte’s team selection.

Antonio Conte’s substitution usage likely contributed directly to Chelsea’s success in injury prevention. Premier Injuries found that most players came off due to injury in the 90th, 57th or 60th minute. Conte normally made his first substitution on the hour mark, another between 70′-75′ and his final just before stoppage time.

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Conte removed his starters from the pitch in the periods during which they were – statistically – the most vulnerable. He was the only manager to use all three substitutions in every Premier League game. The data indicates that his substitutions were driven as much by proactive sports science as football tactics.

Chelsea’s top six rivals had far less success in squad health. Tottenham lost nearly 2.5 times as many days to significant injuries as Chelsea, and twice as many days to injury overall. The other four teams finished in the bottom nine on the injury chart. Arsenal and Liverpool each lost over 1000 days. As with all things, Sunderland finished dead last.

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Antonio Conte gave Christmas gifts to everyone who works at the club. After what they did to help Chelsea win a Premier League title in his first season, he may be buying the sports medicine and strength & conditioning staff more than a bottle of prosecco this summer.