The amount of games missed by AFL players through injury has reached a record high.

The league’s own figures, released on Wednesday, showed the total number of games missed by players at each club last season was at their highest in the 20 years such statistics have been kept.

Worryingly, it is not an isolated figure, with the 2010 season having resulted in decade-high injury prevalence.

But the 2010 figure – an average of 153.8 games missed through injury at each club – was topped by the 2011 figure of 157, released on Wednesday.

The AFL attempted to focus on the more positive aspects of the latest data, significant reductions in hamstring and groin strains.

The league said those reductions added weight to their decision to reduce the size of the bench last season from four interchange players to three and a substitute.

But while those injuries were at a decade-long low, other types of injuries were at their highest over the same period.

Games missed through shoulder sprains and dislocations continued their upward trend.

Player absences due to concussion, arm and hand fractures, calf strains and various forms of leg, ankle and foot injuries were also at historic highs.

There were also sharp rises in games missed through serious knee injuries, both anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).