Table 5 Qualitative assessment tool and average methodological quality scores of the 13 criteria

1

Was the study question or objective clearly described?

2

Were the inclusion criteria stated? (e.g., players with previous injuries were excluded)

3

Were the main outcomes to be measured clearly described in the introduction or methods section?

4

Were the main outcomes measured using accurate procedures? (e.g., reliability was reported by means of assessment or citation)

5

Were the players’ participation level (e.g., amateur), training background (e.g., years of training), training status (e.g., training hours or sessions/ matches per week) described?

6

Were the anthropometric characteristics described? (e.g., body mass, height, and body fat)

7

Was the season period when the match took place stated? (e.g., off-season/ pre-season/ competitive-season)

8

Was the ground surface specified? (e.g., grass/ artificial turf/ synthetic surface)

9

Were the environmental conditions described? (e.g., temperature and humidity)

10

Were external (e.g., time motion analyses/ performance measures) and internal (e.g., RPE/ heart rate) measures of match intensity recorded?

11

Was the activity undertaken during the recovery period (e.g., 12–72 h post-match) described? (studies with only pre and immediately post-match measures were scored as 2)

12

Was a limitation paragraph with possible confounding factors included in the study?

13

Was the use of hormonal contraceptives or menstrual cycle phase reported?

Total