Jon from Slough asks:
Dear Ransacker – why is it that so many footballers break or damage their metatarsal bones, usually before major international tournaments?! I’ve had plenty of injuries over the years, including the metatarsal one, so shouldn’t something be done to strengthen the top of the boots to help prevent these?
Boot Boffins Answer:
The problem with the metatarsal injury, Jon, is that, as you state, it has been brought to the attention of the UK football public because of the much talked about injuries to the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney, usually accompanied by the inevitable ‘will they make it, or won’t they?’ countdown. As injuries go, it’s no more common than many of the other breaks, fractures, strains or pulls, but it always warrants more attention.
The real problem is in the design of modern boots, with the obsession of many of our manufacturers to make cleats that are lightweight, flexible and thin. This of course means it’s easier to get to the ball, enables better control, and provides much more clinical foot-to-ball contact.
The downside is that flexible boots – particularly those that bend along the length of the sole – provide much less protection to the foot. While these boots obviously don’t cause injury, they certainly do much less to protect against it.
Footballers don’t help themselves by wearing boots that are one or two sizes too small as well, since this 
puts the foot in a jarring motion and means the pressure of contact is disspated not into the boot, but down onto the bone.
Ultimately, there’s only one way to protect against metatarsal injuries, and that’s to wear a boot that would be so large and cumbersome that you may as well be injured, because you’d have about as much chance as making it to that 50/50 ball!
Injuries are all part of the game, but if you are still worried, choose boots that are the right size, wear extra socks or foot supports, and choose a leather brand that is thick and sturdy, not thin and lightweight. Good luck!
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About the author
James is an experienced football journalist who edits two leading Premier League club mags. He has worked for Sky Sports and is endlessly complaining about shin splints. And Mark Lawrenson. His favourite boot is the Adidas Predator Powerswerve. Although it's rumored that he once owned a pair of Nicks boots!
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