ABSTRACT
A great focus has been placed on the development of soccer skills and injury prevention programs, but in this chapter we put the emphasis on recovery from injury and how to reintegrate athletes back into training and competition. Regardless of specific pathology, sports medicine clinicians and coaches alike should follow the five key principles of soccer rehabilitation and return to play. While getting an athlete back onto the field as soon as possible sounds nice in a utopian world, coaches and support staff must not forget that each injury needs to be treated as its own entity. Remember that time and education, of the body and mind, can help to restore full soccer participation as quickly, but ultimately as safely, as possible to decrease the likelihood of needing to revisit the entire rehabilitation process over again.
