Viktor Gyökeres: Managing a Hamstring’s Load Under a New System

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another week’s episode brought to you by the The Scout Report.

The last few weeks have been a treat for football fans, matches every few days, storylines everywhere you look. It’s wild to think that eight different Premier League teams are currently involved in European competitions. I know I can’t wait for the next few weeks. Wait, what’s that you say? Another international break after the weekend?! Damn. Well, at least it’s still football.

On the bright side, this week’s episode is our first featuring a striker. So for all the loyal readers who’ve powered through tactical breakdowns and graph after graph, this one’s for you. This week we’re talking wonder goals, celebrations, and all the joy that comes with watching a striker in form. There’s absolutely no way I’d write an article about a striker that focuses more on team tactics and defensive pressing. None at all.

Let’s read to find out.

The Injury in Question

Arsenal’s new striker, Viktor Gyökeres, suffered a right hamstring strain last weekend. Gunners fans have been desperate for a true number nine, and you can understand the buzz around the signing of the Swedish forward, formerly of Sporting CP. But before we dive into the specifics, let’s quickly refresh why the hamstrings are so critical to footballers.

The Hamstrings in Brief

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles, the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus which are located at the back of the thigh. They allow knee flexion (bending) and hip extension (moving the leg backward). Because of these dual roles, they’re especially vulnerable during high-intensity sprinting. Just before the foot strikes the ground, the hamstrings contract eccentrically to decelerate the leg, acting like the body’s braking system.

To visualize this, here’s a great video from Complete Anatomy.

Case Study: Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal FC / Sweden)

What: Right hamstring strain
When: November 1st vs. Burnley (first half)
How: Footage suggests discomfort following a pressing or recovery action in the attacking third
Early prognosis: Reports suggest a 2–4 week absence, with a possible return around November 24th — consistent with a Grade 1 strain

If you haven’t seen the footage of the injury, check it out below.
Twitter Video!

You might be thinking: “Wait, I thought most hamstring injuries happen during high-velocity sprints but Gyökeres wasn’t running that fast?” And you’d be right. But the human body rarely limits itself to just one mechanism of injury. If it did, being a physio would be far too easy.

Research shows that nearly half of hamstring injuries in elite football don’t occur during full sprints, but during moderate-intensity accelerations, decelerations, or reaching movements often when players are fatigued. Even a submaximal effort, a stretch to control a ball, or a half-turn can place enough eccentric strain on the hamstrings to exceed the muscle’s threshold.

Fatigue and Tactical Demands

“But this injury happened in the first half,” you might say. “How could an elite Premier League player already be tired?”

This is where we zoom out. To understand the why, we have to consider Gyökeres’s tactical role at Arsenal and how it differs from his time at Sporting.

At Sporting, he was the high, direct focal point in a transition-heavy system: constant runs in behind, early vertical passes, and minimal defensive responsibility once possession was lost. While the sample size is small, just take a look at the difference in his progressive carry rate (carrying the ball at least 10 meters upfield):

• Sporting 2024/25 season: 4.28 /90 (99th percentile)

• Arsenal 2025/26 season: 2.29 /90 (specific percentile not calculated yet)

At Arsenal, he’s part of a structured, positional press, shaping the opposition’s buildup rather than chasing every ball. His pressing triggers are coordinated and reactive, demanding repeated short accelerations instead of long, straight-line sprints.

One game that highlights his running volume was his debut against Manchester United. In his 60 minutes on the pitch, Gyökeres covered approximately 7.7 km, with around 20 percent of that distance coming from sprints. Scaled to a full game, that would be around 11.6 km/90 at or above the typical forward range (9–11 km/90) and comparable to some of the league’s higher-running attackers and midfielders.

Not All Sprinting Is the Same

Pressing systems built on triggers, which are fundamental to Arsenal’s team tactics, require reactive bursts, sudden accelerations when a pass is played backward or a defender takes a heavy touch. These reactive sprints can increase injury risk because the hamstrings don’t always have adequate preparatory activation time. While we’re talking milliseconds, the muscle may lengthen rapidly under load before full tension readiness, putting a player at risk for injury.

In contrast, a planned sprint, like timing a run in behind the defense, allows the nervous system to anticipate and pre-activate the hamstrings before maximal effort, which is predominantly what Gyökeres was doing at Sporting last season.

Recovery and Re-Injury Risk

Alright, break time and a quick pop quiz for the readers still waiting for those highlight-reel goals: what’s one of the biggest risk factors for a future soft tissue injury?

That’s right, a previous injury to the same muscle. Players face a 15–30% chance of re-injury if they return too soon.

So while Gyökeres’s strain appears minor, we can’t just focus on the diagnosis. As sports medicine professionals, we have to consider the broader context: a new league, different tactical demands, and cumulative physical stress. These factors matter.

At Sporting, his runs were linear and predictable. At Arsenal, his role demands repeated, reactive accelerations from semi-static or rotational positions, exactly the kind of unpredictable movement that tests a healing hamstring. Even after structural recovery, regaining eccentric strength, reactive timing, and confidence under pressing triggers is essential. Returning before those are restored risks re-injury during the very moments that define Arsenal’s pressing identity.

Final Whistle

Alright, fine, if you’ve made it this far, you deserve at least one goal, especially for any long-time Arsenal fans.

Thanks again for reading, and stay tuned for next week’s episode.

Great Goal!