The hamstrings are a group of muscles that run down the back of the thigh, made up primarily of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus.
They play an important role in bending the knee, extending the hip and, most importantly for footballers, producing and controlling force during running and sprinting.
When an athlete “tears their hammy”, this usually refers to a hamstring strain, where some of the muscle fibres or the junction between the muscle and tendon are overloaded and damaged.
These injuries can range from a relatively minor strain involving a small number of fibres, through to a significant partial or complete tear.
Hamstring injuries are extremely common in football, and unfortunately, so are re-injuries.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is treating the absence of pain as the finish line. A hamstring can feel completely normal during day-to-day activity while still being poorly prepared for sprinting, kicking and repeated high-speed efforts.
Why do hamstring injuries come back?
Football places enormous demands on the hamstrings, particularly during sprinting.
The faster you run, the harder your hamstrings have to work. This means there can be a significant gap between being comfortable jogging and being prepared to sprint at full speed during a game. If you have injured your hamstring previously, your risk for re-injury is increased by 2-to-3 fold.
This is why I don’t like using pain alone to determine whether an athlete is ready to return.
Loading the hamstring properly
Rest has a role early after injury, but, ultimately, rehabilitation should progressively challenge the hamstring through different movements and muscle lengths.
Depending on the athlete, this may involve exercises such as hamstring bridges, Romanian deadlifts, hamstring curls and Nordic hamstring exercises.
The aim is to progressively rebuild strength without aggravating symptoms.
Sprinting is rehabilitation
When looking to return to football, sprinting is a key part of rehab.
I gradually progress athletes from:
Side shuffles → jogging → accelerations/decelerations → high-speed sprinting.
This is important because sprinting is one of the best ways to prepare the hamstring for the exact forces it will experience during football.
Avoiding high-speed running until your first training session leaves a major gap in preparation.
The jump from running to football
Football necessitates a huge demand on sudden changes of pace and direction, especially while fatigued.
I progressively expose athletes to these demands before returning them to unrestricted training, to ensure they are as prepared as possible.
From there, training itself becomes another stage of rehabilitation, building towards competition.
So when can you play?
I look for a combination of:
- Minimal or no symptoms
- Good hamstring strength
- Confidence with sprinting
- Exposure to near-maximal running speeds
- Football-specific movements
- Full training without a reaction afterwards
The key is that while pain may settle relatively quickly, the hamstring still needs time and appropriate exposure to rebuild its capacity.
A good rehabilitation program should progressively restore strength, sprinting ability and confidence before the athlete returns to unrestricted football.
Returning a few days earlier is rarely worth much if the result is another hamstring injury and another period on the sidelines.
If you are unsure whether you or your child is ready to return to play, a full assessment can help identify any remaining deficits and guide a safe return to football.
