How morale, fatigue and injuries affect your matches

In ELDT, morale, fatigue and injuries all follow specific rules, and understanding them can save you from the classic situation: a key player arriving shattered or picking up an injury just before a crucial matchday. Here are the real game figures and how to use them.

The three states of every player

Every player in your squad has indicators that change from week to week, alongside their attributes:

• Form: how well they are playing. It affects their actual performance in each match; it improves after good games and drops after defeats or too many minutes on the pitch.
• Morale (0 to 100): affected by results and minutes played in the last 6 matches.
• Fatigue (0 to 100): accumulated tiredness. High fatigue reduces performance and increases the risk of injury.

A player with form 40 will perform worse than one with form 80, even if they have better stats. How to read each card is explained in the squad guide.

Fatigue: exactly how tiredness works

How it rises

Playing an official match adds fatigue at a rate of +0.4 per minute. A full league match adds around 36 points. The cup is less tiring. Friendlies do not affect fatigue: they neither increase nor reduce it, as they are exhibition matches.

How it falls

There are two ways to recover. The first is automatic: every day, 12 points are removed from any player who has not played an official match in the previous 24 hours, whether or not their club has a fixture that week. The second comes on the official matchday: a player who was not selected recovers 15 extra points, while one who was named among the substitutes but did not come on recovers 10.

A player who starts and plays the full 90 minutes on Thursday adds 36 points. On Friday they recover 12 and reach Saturday with 24 extra fatigue. They play another full 90 and end up on around 60. They then have four days to recover — 48 points — and start the following week almost fully refreshed. The problem comes when they also play in the cup on Tuesday: recovery then cannot keep up, and the total builds from matchday to matchday.

What happens with high fatigue

High fatigue reduces performance, by up to 25% less speed at fatigue 100, and increases the risk of injury: above 70, the risk rises sharply. The game's practical rule is clear: rotate when a starter reaches 50-60 fatigue.

Managing tiredness: rotate your squad

Rotation means sharing out minutes so your important players arrive fresh for the matches that matter:

• Use the cup for rotation. It is played on Tuesdays, is less tiring than the league and lets you give your substitutes minutes without adding to your starters' workload.
• The bench also counts towards recovery. A player selected but not brought on recovers 10 extra points on the official matchday; one who is not even named in the squad recovers 15.
• Check fatigue before finalising your line-up. It is locked 15 minutes before each match.
• Friendlies are for trying things out, not wearing players out. As they do not affect fatigue and there are no injuries, you can use them on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to give youngsters and substitutes minutes without costing anyone physically. More in the friendly guide.
• Build a squad you can rotate. If your first 11 are much better than the rest, you will never rotate and will eventually end up with injured players. A couple of decent substitutes can be found in the transfer market, through targeted signings or on loan.

Injuries: how long they last and how to shorten them

Injuries occur in official matches. The base risk is 2.5% per player per match, and it increases with high fatigue (above 70) and age (under 19 and over 30-33). Playing fewer minutes reduces the risk. There are no injuries in friendlies, so they are the safe place to give players match time.

Severity

• Minor: 1 to 3 days.
• Moderate: 4 to 8 days.
• Serious: 9 to 15 days. No injury lasts more than 15 days.

Serious injuries also have a type-specific limit: a strain and concussion last up to 10 days, a sprain 12, a muscle tear 14 and a fracture 15. The number of days falls by 1 for each calendar day, whether the player plays or not, and an injured player cannot start.

The doctor speeds up recovery

Having a doctor on the coaching staff shortens recovery by around 20% of the number of days. With two league matches a week plus the cup, that 20% is often the difference between missing one matchday and missing two.

One detail that confuses many managers: fatigue is not deducted from an injury, and an injury does not affect fatigue. They are separate things. A player returning from injury keeps the fatigue they had, although it may have fallen through the daily 12-point recovery while they were out.

Morale: how to influence it

Morale ranges from 0 to 100 and is affected by results and minutes played in the last 6 matches. There is no button to increase it: as manager, you control the two levers that affect it:

• Results. A losing run hits the morale of the whole squad. The best way to stop it is to arrive with your starters rested and fit for the matches you can win — exactly what good rotation helps you do.
• Minutes. A player who does not play in 6 matches will not be happy. Sharing out minutes — which is what you do when rotating — keeps squad morale more even.

A weekly routine that works

1. Monday: check squad fatigue and injuries. If you want, play a friendly for those who did not feature on Saturday.
2. Tuesday (Copa ELDT): rotate. Play those with low fatigue and those who need minutes.
3. Wednesday: optional friendly for youngsters and academy prospects. Check who has returned from injury.
4. Thursday (league): starters with fatigue below 50-60. If anyone is above that, put them on the bench: they recover 10 extra points.
5. Friday: everyone who did not play an official match recovers 12 points. If there is a friendly, let those who will be on the bench on Saturday play it.
6. Saturday (league): use the same approach as on Thursday. A starter who played the full 90 on Thursday arrives with around 24 more fatigue than before that matchday: generally, they are fit to play.
7. Sunday: recovery. If you have a private league, it is a good day for your substitutes.

This routine is based on ELDT's actual calendar: league matches on Thursdays and Saturdays at 21:00 Argentine time, Copa ELDT on Tuesdays, friendlies on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and private leagues on Sundays. If you are just starting out, the beginner's guide takes you through your first 7 days as a manager.

Frequently asked questions

How much fatigue does a match add in ELDT?

An official match adds 0.4 fatigue points per minute played: a full league match is around 36. The cup is less tiring, while friendlies neither add nor remove fatigue.

How does tiredness recover?

Every day, 12 points are removed from each player who has not played an official match in the previous 24 hours. In addition, on the official matchday, a player who was not selected recovers 15 points, while one who was on the bench but did not come on recovers 10.

When should I rotate my squad?

The game's practical rule is to rotate when a starter reaches 50-60 fatigue. Above 70, the risk of injury rises sharply, and at fatigue 100 the player loses up to 25% of their speed.

How long does an injury last?

Between 1 and 15 days depending on its severity: minor 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 8, serious 9 to 15. No injury lasts more than 15 days, and having a doctor on the coaching staff shortens recovery by around 20%.

How do I improve a player's morale?

Morale is affected by results and minutes played in the last 6 matches. To improve it, give the player minutes and try to reach the matches you can win with your team fit and well rested.

Managing morale, tiredness and injuries is what turns a good squad into a team capable of competing across all 30 matchdays. If you want to try it with your own club, create yours in ELDT and start checking fatigue before every match.