Hamstring strain grades & return times
Hamstring strains are the most common injury in elite football and usually happen during high-speed running.
What the research reports
- Average time back to training: about 8 days for a grade 0 strain, rising to about 65 days for grade 3 (95% CI 34.8–95.8).
- Average time back to matches after a hamstring muscle injury: about 21 days.
- On the British Athletic Muscle Injury Classification (BAMIC), time back to training ranged from about 8 days (1a) to about 49 days (2c).
One case report followed a Premier League player with a grade 2c intramuscular-tendon injury. He was back in on-pitch rehab at day 11, full training at day 35 and a Premier League match at day 40 (PubMed 35752044).
Re-injury risk
About 18% of hamstring injuries in professional football are re-injuries, most within 2 months of returning to play (cited in a 2024 scoping review of return-to-play criteria). Clubs mostly use criteria such as absence of pain, strength and training load, not a fixed date (survey of 131 professional teams).
These are averages across many players. Individual recovery varies a lot. Last reviewed 16 Oct 2026.
The weekly injury report
Who's out, who's back, and what the injury actually means, before every Fantasy Premier League deadline.
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