The Magpies are currently the Premier League’s most injured club, with 11 players injured – a new high for the league this season.

According to statistics researcher Ben Dinnery, founder of Premier Injuries, there have been 196 injuries in just over three months at the start of the 2023-24 top-flight season, a 15% rise over the previous four campaigns.

What is the complete data? Is there a reason why so many athletes are getting injured, and is this a trend? BBC Sport investigates.

The figures
Newcastle, who qualified for their first Champions League campaign since 2002-03, presently has 11 players listed as injured, with a total of 14 injuries this season. That is a league record shared with Manchester United, whose absences have also been well publicized this season.

Is it simply a case of more games, with high-intensity European campaigns for both sides, resulting in more injuries? Not quite, as West Ham, who play in the Europa League, presently have zero recorded injuries, with only five all season – the league’s lowest.

According to Dinnery, one explanation for the apparent disparity, despite a comparable timetable, is that Newcastle’s core squad’s efforts in 2022-23 are beginning to catch up with them. They only had 15 injuries whole season last year.