What Is Injury Time In Soccer?

Injury time in football has quite the absurd definition given its similarity to stoppage time. So what is injury time in soccer?

In stoppage time, non-playing time is summed up more or less and then declared before the end of a half.

Injury time is a subset of stoppage time; it has its own nuanced definition but ultimately is counted for when the fourth official dictates the stoppage time. Injury time is also when Sergio Ramos releases his inner hulk on other players.

If Kevin De Bruyne was injured in a match rather than training, the referee would’ve accounted for the time of assessing his injury and the time it took to get him off the pitch for treatment. That time, injury time, is then added to stoppage time.

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In 2013, an Arsenal vs. West Ham United match needed an approximately 13 minutes of stoppage time because of the long addition of injury time. Poor Steve Potts needed 12 minutes of medical assessment and Arsenal capitalized on the player shortage for a relatively easy win.

Then again, easy win and Arsenal don’t really go together, do they?