{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T19:29:31Z","timestamp":1783020571213,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779408000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779408000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Knee surg. sports traumatol. arthrosc."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Purpose<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Achilles tendon ruptures (ATRs) are uncommon but career\u2010threatening injuries in elite athletes. Limited evidence exists regarding return\u2010to\u2010sport (RTS) and performance outcomes among National Hockey League (NHL) players following ATR. This study aimed to evaluate RTS rates and post\u2010injury performance metrics in NHL players after ATR, using matched controls for comparison.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      NHL players who sustained an ATR between the 2000\u20132001 and 2024\u20132025 seasons were identified using publicly available databases and confirmed through independent sports news sources. Each player was matched 1:1 to a control based on position, age and pre\u2010injury performance using a validated similarity algorithm. Demographic data and performance metrics, including points per game (PPG), games played (GP), average time on ice (ATOI) and a validated hockey\u2010specific performance score (PS), were collected for two seasons before and after the injury or index date. RTS rates and pre\u2010 versus post\u2010injury changes were assessed using paired\n                      <jats:italic>t<\/jats:italic>\n                      tests, with significance set at\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.05.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 20 NHL players met the inclusion criteria and were successfully matched to controls. The overall RTS rate was 87.0%, rising to 100% when accounting for players who retired from the NHL but continued playing professionally in other leagues. Although players with ATR (cases) demonstrated performance declines post\u2010injury, no significant differences were observed in PS, PPG, ATOI or GP at any position, except for PS when all positions were analysed collectively. Similarly, control players experienced non\u2010significant performance declines across all metrics post\u2010index.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>ATR in NHL players is associated with high RTS rates and largely preserved performance metrics. While a modest decline in PS was observed, other key metrics remained stable compared to matched controls. These findings support favourable functional recovery and can inform post\u2010injury expectations and management.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Level of Evidence<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Level III.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/ksa.70458","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T10:19:15Z","timestamp":1779445155000},"page":"2612-2622","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Return\u2010to\u2010sport and performance outcomes after Achilles tendon rupture in National Hockey League players: A matched cohort study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"34","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7535-0193","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Slawaska\u2010Eng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Harjind","family":"Kahlon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Temerty Faculty of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-6883-9486","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marc Daniel","family":"Bouchard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery McMaster University Hamilton Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3185-7800","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John","family":"Theodoropoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery University of Toronto Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Program (UTOSM) Toronto Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexander E.","family":"Weber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4219-8564","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olufemi","family":"Ayeni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery McMaster University Hamilton Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546513490659"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1941738119849105"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/00003086-200207000-00024"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/jqas-2024-0083"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/23259671211024199"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.asmr.2020.05.013"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/24730114241300153"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_9_1","unstructured":"Hockey\u2010Reference.com. NHL stats history scores standings playoffs schedule & records. In: Hockey\u2010Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Available viaHockey-Reference.com; 2025 [accessed 14 Dec 2025]. Available from:https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1198\/000313001300339897"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1071100717718131"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967120966041"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546516651060"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2021-104835"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546519858609"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/JSM.0000000000000584"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12178-022-09774-3"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_18_1","unstructured":"NHL Injury Viz. NHL Injury Viz: Index. In: NHL Injury Viz. Available via NHL Injury Viz; 2025 [accessed 14 Dec 2025]. Available from:https:\/\/nhlinjuryviz.blogspot.com\/p\/index-page.html"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fcl.2005.01.011"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.k5120"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_21_1","unstructured":"Pearsall DJ Turcotte RA Lefebvre RL Bateni H Nicolau M Montgomery D et al. Kinematics of the foot and ankle in forward ice hockey skating. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium for Biomechanics in Sports. University of San Francisco; 2001. p. 78\u201381."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546513499229"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/036354658701500105"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ksa.12720"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_2_12_25_1","first-page":"S\u201386","article-title":"Performance and return to sport after hip arthroscopy for femoracetabular impingement syndrome in National Hockey League players","volume":"15","author":"Sochacki KR","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Hip Preserv Surg"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jseint.2020.08.008"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2147\/OAJSM.S246414"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546517713001"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967118810772"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967119830139"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/j.jfas.2018.05.007"}],"container-title":["Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ksa.70458","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/ksa.70458","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ksa.70458","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T18:08:41Z","timestamp":1783015721000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/esskajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/ksa.70458"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]]},"references-count":30,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/ksa.70458"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ksa.70458","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0942-2056","1433-7347"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0942-2056","type":"print"},{"value":"1433-7347","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-02-18","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-04-07","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-05-22","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}