The Incidence and Severity of COVID-19 in Adult Professional Soccer Players

Introduction

At present, there are no data regarding the incidence and clinical course of COVID-19 among professional soccer players, and the studies examining putative complications of COVID-19 infections are probabilistic. Thus, examining the incidence of COVID-19 and various aspects of its clinical course in a group of adult professional soccer players would be of great practical interest.

Methods

The incidence, clinical course, and severity of COVID-19 infection, as well as the duration of treatment and return to play were studied by the questioning of the team physicians and medical records assessment in the group of adult professional soccer players representing the clubs of the Russian Premier-League (RPL) during the period of championship resumption from 01.04.2020 until 20.09.2020.

Results

COVID-19 infection was detected in 103 soccer players in the course of COVID-19 screening. This number comprises 14.5% of all soccer players which were on the rosters of RPL soccer teams and which were subject to regular COVID-19 testing.

The asymptomatic course was observed in 43.7% of cases (n=45). These players were isolated and their clinical condition was monitored closely. Clinical symptoms were observed in 56.3% of cases (n=58), the most common symptoms being fatigue, headache, fever, and anosmia.

Conclusions

COVID-19 infection was commonly diagnosed among adult professional soccer players continuously residing in Russia. However, the majority of infections had a mild course and did not impair return to regular exercise.