Interest in football continues to increase, with ever younger age groups participating at a competitive level. Football academies have sprung up under the umbrella of professional clubs in an attempt to nurture and develop such talent in a safe manner. However, increased participation predisposes the immature skeleton to injury. Over a five-year period we have prospectively collected data concerning all injuries presenting to the medical team at Newcastle United football academy. We identified 685 injuries in our cohort of 210 players with a mean age of 13.5 years (9 to 18). The majority of injuries (542;79%) were to the lower limb. A total of 20 surgical procedures were performed. Contact injuries accounted for 31% (210) of all injuries and non-contact for 69% (475).The peaks of injury occurred in early September and March. The 15- and 16-year-old age group appeared most at risk, independent of hours of participation. Strategies to minimise injury may be applicable in both the academy setting and the wider general community.

The accessory navicular is occasionally the source of pain and local tenderness over the instep. If conservative measures fail, surgical treatment may be required and the results of 62 operations to one or both feet in 47 patients are reported. Twenty-six patients were treated by the Kidner operation, in which the main insertion of the tibialis posterior is re-routed; in the remaining 21 the ossicle was merely excised. Excision was as effective as the Kidner technique, provided that the medial surface of the main navicular bone was contoured to prevent any residual prominence. Both procedures were successful in relieving symptoms in the majority of cases and failures resulted from errors in the selection of patients or in the surgical technique. Correction of any associated flat foot was secondary to growth and maturation of the foot rather than to the operation; hence the Kidner procedure does not confer any particular advantages over simple excision