Skip to main content

Process Guide - Injuries

  • Updated

This article explains how injuries are handled at a data level for each sport.

Injuries data is provided for the following sports and competitions:

NFL Injuries

SportsDataIO strives to provide the most up-to-date and reliable injury data in the industry. Our injury data is updated around the clock; for best results, injuries endpoints should be called every 5 to 10 minutes.

The main endpoint for injuries data is Injuries, which can be called by week, so that current or historical data can be returned.

Injury Definitions and Fields

SportsDataIO monitors official injury wires and trusted sources to determine the latest injury status of each NFL player. While official sources are always preferred, credible media reports are also used to ensure we are up to date.

Key fields that should be consulted:

  • InjuryStatus: This can be Injured, Doubtful, Questionable, Probable, or null.
    • An Injured player will miss the next game.
    • A Doubtful player is likely to miss the next game.
    • A Questionable player may miss the next game, pending further updates.
    • A Probable player is on their way back from injury and likely, but not guaranteed, to play in the next game.
    • If this field is null, the player is healthy.
  • Status: This can be Active or Inactive.
    • A player who is Inactive is not on the active roster. 
    • If a player is confirmed out following a regular practice report or game status report, he will still be Active if he isn't placed on Injured Reserve, i.e. he's still part of the active roster, but may miss some games.
    • Note that Status is not fully synonymous with Injury Status, because players may be listed as inactive for non-injury reasons.
    • Similarly, because players can be injured but still Active, Status must not be used as a synonym for gameday inactivity.
      • Gameday inactives can be identified by InjuryStatus being Out and this Status being Active.
  • InjuryBodyPart: The body part (or suspension) affected.
  • InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified.

While key times to call the Injuries endpoints are after the 4pm practice reports and 90 minutes prior to games, it should be called regularly - 5 or 10 minutes apart - throughout the day to allow for additional media reports and official injury updates to be reflected.

Pre-Season and Off-Season

Injury coverage ceases in the off-season. The day after the Super Bowl, injury status is no longer tracked.

Pre-season games do not have injury coverage. In the event that a player has a serious injury that will definitely keep him out of regular season games, that will be reflected and a note added to indicate it.

MLB Injuries

SportsDataIO collates the official MLB Injury Reports for each team, but also sources real-time data from credible media sources to ensure an up-to-date injuries feed for baseball.

The main endpoint for MLB injuries is Player Details - by Injured. Injuries can also be found in Player endpoints.

Injury Definitions and Fields

SportsDataIO monitors official injury wires and trusted sources to determine the latest injury status of each MLB player. While official sources are always preferred, credible media reports are also used to ensure we are up to date.

Key fields that should be consulted:

  • InjuryStatus: This can be Injured, Doubtful, Questionable, Probable, or null.
    • An Injured player will miss the next game.
    • A Doubtful player is likely to miss the next game.
    • A Questionable player may miss the next game, pending further updates.
    • A Probable player is on their way back from injury and likely, but not guaranteed, to play in the next game.
    • If this field is null, the player is healthy.
  • Status: If a player is out injured, he will appear with a status on the official MLB injury lists. These are 7-day, 10-day, 15-day, and 60-day, as injury seriousness warrants. Placing players on the 60-day list allows them to be removed from the active 40-man roster.
    • Players can be activated before the limit of days is hit if they are fit in time to play; when this happens, their status will revert to Active.
    • Players can, if their club wants to keep them active on the 40-man roster for whatever reason, be on the 10-day injured list for longer than 60 days.
    • Note that the injury lists are only formally produced during the regular season. Playoff behavior is described below. 
    • Note that Status is not fully synonymous with Injury Status, because free agent, waived players, and retirees are also Inactive due to not being on team rosters.
    • For these two reasons, InjuryStatus should be considered authoritative regarding an individual player's injury status.
  • InjuryBodyPart: The body part (or suspension) affected.
  • InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified. This can be backdated in rare cases, such as concussions (i.e. a player may be listed as injured on June 5th, but with the start date as June 4th.)

Playoffs

The Injured Lists are not formally published during the playoffs, including the World Series. Instead the final, 40-man roster is set; player injuries are recorded in InjuryStatus, being set to Out if they are going to miss a given playoff game.

Pre-Season and Off-Season

Injury coverage ceases in the off-season. The day after the World Series, injury status is no longer tracked. The same applies for spring training: only if a player's injury is definitely serious enough to last into the season proper will an injury status be given.

Injury coverage will be in place in full the day before the following season begins.

NBA Injuries

SportsDataIO collates the official NBA Injury Reports for each team, but also sources real-time data from credible media sources to ensure an up-to-date injuries feed for basketball. As the NBA official injury record is frequently updated throughout the day, typically this is the most-used source.

The main endpoint for NBA injuries is Player Details - by Injured. Injuries can also be found in Player endpoints.

Injury Definitions and Fields

SportsDataIO monitors official injury wires and trusted sources to determine the latest injury status of each NBA player. While official sources are always preferred, and in the case of the NBA tend to be very timely, credible media reports are also used as a backup to ensure that we are up to date.

Key fields that should be consulted:

  • InjuryStatus: This can be Injured, Doubtful, Questionable, Probable, or null.
    • An Injured player will miss the next game.
    • A Doubtful player is likely to miss the next game.
    • A Questionable player may miss the next game, pending further updates.
    • A Probable player is on their way back from injury and likely, but not guaranteed, to play in the next game.
    • If this field is null, the player is healthy.
  • Status: The NBA is unlike the NFL or MLB in that there is no specific Status associated with appearing on the injury list, i.e. there is no formal 60-day Injured List or similar like there is in other sports. Thus a player can be listed as Active but still Out via InjuryStatus.
    • For this reason, InjuryStatus should be used to determine if a player will play or is likely to miss a game.
  • InjuryBodyPart: The body part affected.
  • InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified.
  • InjuryNotes: A written description of a player's injury, e.g.: "Duren is dealing with an ankle injury and will not take the court for the Pistons."
    • Note that while this written description may contain a predicted return date, this is neither a statistical value returned as a date field, nor one that is guaranteed to be correct. By its nature, projecting returns from injuries is an inexact science, and thus these notes should be used only for guidance.

Off-Season and Free Agents

Injury coverage ceases in the off-season. The day after the Finals, injury status is no longer tracked.

Similarly, teams eliminated during or prior to postseason will next receive injury updates closer to the start of the following regular season.

Pre-season games do not have injury coverage. In the event that a player has a serious injury that will definitely keep him out of regular season games, that will be reflected and a note added to indicate it.

Free agents do not have their injury status tracked until they sign with a team.

Injury coverage will be in place in full the day before the following season begins.

NHL Injuries

SportsDataIO monitors official injury wires and trusted sources to determine the latest injury status of each NHL player. While official sources are always preferred, credible media reports are also used as a backup to ensure that we are up to date.

The main endpoint for NHL Injuries is Player details - by Injured. Injury data is also available in Players endpoints.

Injury Definitions and Fields

SportsDataIO monitors official injury wires and trusted sources to determine the latest injury status of each NBA player. While official sources are always preferred, and in the case of the NBA tend to be very timely, credible media reports are also used as a backup to ensure that we are up to date.

Key fields that should be consulted:

  • InjuryStatus: This can be Injured, Doubtful, Questionable, Probable, or null.
    • An Injured player will miss the next game.
    • A Doubtful player is likely to miss the next game.
    • A Questionable player may miss the next game, pending further updates.
    • A Probable player is on their way back from injury and likely, but not guaranteed, to play in the next game.
    • If this field is null, the player is healthy.
  • Status: In the NHL, there is an Injured Reserve list that teams can use to manage their rosters in the case of long-term absences. However, a player may be injured in the short-term but kept on the active roster. Thus a player can be listed as Active but still Out via InjuryStatus.
    • For this reason, InjuryStatus should be used to determine if a player will play or is likely to miss a game.
    • Additionally, Status may include players who are on the Suspended List, who aren't physically injured but may miss the next game regardless.
  • InjuryBodyPart: The body part affected. If a player is Suspended, this will say Suspension.
  • InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified.
  • InjuryNotes: A written description of a player's injury, e.g.: "Moore is dealing with an upper body injury and has been placed on injured reserve. It is unknown when he will make his season debut."
    • Note that while this written description may contain a predicted return date, this is neither a statistical value returned as a date field, nor one that is guaranteed to be correct. By its nature, projecting returns from injuries is an inexact science, and thus these notes should be used only for guidance.

Off-Season and Free Agents

Injury coverage ceases in the off-season. The day after the Finals, injury status is no longer tracked.

Similarly, teams eliminated during or prior to postseason will next receive injury updates closer to the start of the following regular season.

Pre-season games do not have injury coverage. In the event that a player has a serious injury that will definitely keep him out of regular season games, that will be reflected and a note added to indicate it.

Free agents do not have their injury status tracked until they sign with a team.

Injury coverage will be in place in full the day before the following season begins.

College Football Injuries

SportsDataIO monitors official injury wires for each covered team and conference, as well as trusted media sources, to determine the latest injury status of each Division I football player. While official sources are always preferred, credible media reports are also used to ensure we are up to date.

The main endpoint for CFB injuries is Player Details - by Injured. Injuries can also be found in Player endpoints.

Injury Definitions and Fields

Key fields that should be consulted:

  • InjuryStatus: This can be Injured, Questionable, Probable, or null. An Injured player will miss the next game. A player who is Questionable may miss the next game, pending further updates. A player who is Probable is still recovering from injury but is very likely to play in the next game. If this field is null, the player is healthy.
  • InjuryBodyPart: The body part (or suspension) affected.
  • InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified.
  • InjuryNotes: A written description of the player's injury, e.g.: "Burns has been battling a neck injury, and it is expected to hold him out until the early part of November."
    • Note that while this written description may contain a predicted return date, this is neither a statistical value returned as a date field, nor one that is guaranteed to be correct. By its nature, projecting returns from injuries is an inexact science, and thus these notes should be used only for guidance.

Pre-Season and Off-Season

Injury coverage ceases in the off-season. The day after the season ends, injury status is no longer tracked.

Similarly, after a team's final game of the season, they will next receive injury updates closer to the start of the following regular season.

Pre-season games do not have injury coverage. In the event that a player has a serious injury that will definitely keep him out of regular season games, that will be reflected and a note added to indicate it.

Injury coverage will be in place in full the day before the following season begins.

College Basketball Injuries

SportsDataIO monitors official injury wires for each team and conference, as well as trusted media sources, to determine the latest injury status of each Division I basketball player. While official sources are always preferred, credible media reports are also used to ensure we are up to date.

The main endpoint for CBB injuries is Player Details - by Injured. Injuries can also be found in Player endpoints.

Injury Definitions and Fields

Key fields that should be consulted:

  • InjuryStatus: This can be Injured, Questionable, Probable, or null. An Injured player will miss the next game. A player who is Questionable may miss the next game, pending further updates. A player who is Probable is still recovering from injury but is very likely to play in the next game. If this field is null, the player is healthy.
  • InjuryBodyPart: The body part (or suspension) affected.
  • InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified.
  • InjuryNotes: A written description of the player's injury, e.g.: "Maxwell is sidelined due to a thumb injury, and it is unclear when he will return to the court."
    • Note that while this written description may contain a predicted return date, this is neither a statistical value returned as a date field, nor one that is guaranteed to be correct. By its nature, projecting returns from injuries is an inexact science, and thus these notes should be used only for guidance.

Pre-Season and Off-Season

Injury coverage ceases in the off-season. The day after the season ends, injury status is no longer tracked.

Similarly, after a team's final game of the season, they will next receive injury updates closer to the start of the following regular season.

Pre-season games do not have injury coverage. In the event that a player has a serious injury that will definitely keep him out of regular season games, that will be reflected and a note added to indicate it.

Injury coverage will be in place in full the day before the following season begins.

 

Soccer Injuries

SportsDataIO monitors official injury reports for each team and league, as well as trusted media sources, to determine the latest injury status of each soccer player for supported leagues and competitions. While official sources are always preferred, credible media reports are also used to ensure we are up to date.

The main endpoint is Player Details - by Injured. Player and Players By Team can also be used.

Supported Leagues & Competitions

The following leagues and competitions have injury data:

 

Country/Confederation CompetitionID League/Competition
Australia 19 A-League
CAF (Africa) 11 Africa Cup of Nations
England 1 Premier League
FIFA (World) 21 World Cup
FIFA (World) TBA Women's World Cup
France 13 Ligue 1
Germany 2 Bundesliga
Italy 6 Serie A
Netherlands 7 Eredivisie
Spain 4 Primera División (La Liga)
UEFA (Europe) 3 Champions League
UEFA (Europe) 16 European Championship

 

Injury Definitions and Fields

Key fields that should be consulted:

  • InjuryStatus: This can be Out, or null. If a player is listed as Out, he is likely to miss the next game. However, due to the lack of formal injury reporting in soccer competitions, a player can be judged as fit to play very late - sometimes within minutes of a game starting.
    • InjuryStatus is updated 48-24 hours before kickoff. At this point, players who missed the last game injured will be removed if they are fit to play. Players expected to miss the game will be Out.
  • InjuryBodyPart: The body part (or suspension) affected.
  • InjuryStartDate: The date at which the player's injury was first verified.
  • InjuryNotes: Currently unused.

Further Reading

For further information, please see our Coverage and Developers documents at Sportsdata.io for each individual sport:

Additionally, if you're interested in learning more about our sports data products, please contact us for a custom quote.

Comments

0 comments

Article is closed for comments.

Powered by Zendesk