According to a recent article in 'peak performance', soccer (known as football in England) foot injuries may be on the rise.  Below is a portion of the article's concern:

"With the advent of Wayne Rooney’s injury in the run-up to the World Cup, metatarsal fractures have been topical. Rooney fractured the fourth metatarsal in his right foot. This type of injury has also afflicted other international players, such as Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands and Manchester United), Gaël Clichy (France and Arsenal), Ivan Campo (Spain and Bolton) and Paulo Ferreira (Portugal and Chelsea).The high incidence of metatarsal fractures in football players has raised the question as to whether modern football boots offer enough protection to the foot and whether they are to blame for the high number of foot injuries. Indeed, Rooney was wearing a new Nike model, the Total 90 Supremacy, for the first time on the day that he was injured.Although Nike denies that its boots are linked to a higher risk of injury, Tommy Docherty, the former manager of Manchester United, said that when he was a professional football player in the 1950s, it used to take six weeks to break a pair of boots in and players used to have to put them in a bucket of water (4)!

Another reason why we are hearing more of these types of injury is the terminology now used and the increased reporting of the injury by the media. Tony Book, a former professional UK footballer, told the Manchester Evening News that he believes the name of the injury has changed. He believes the old ‘broken toe’ injury is now reported as ‘fractured/broken metatarsal’ (4). This changing terminology, coupled with increased media reporting, may be giving rise to a perceived increase in the number of injuries. There may not be more metatarsal injuries now than there used to be, but we all certainly know more about them (6).Before MRI scans were widely available, ‘ankle pain’ was common, but now we have various degrees of ‘bone bruises’. Likewise, in 1960, no one had heard of ‘Gilmore’s Groin’, but by 1990 everyone had one! Again, this indicates that with changing times and advances in technology, the terminology changes but the underlying injury does not."

The moral of the story is that soccer can take it's toll on our feet.  Should you suspect an injury, consult a podiatrist who can provide you with a thorough examination to help your current foot condition and prevent any future injuries.