Acetabular fractures affect the socket of the hip bone, and are generally sustained after violent trauma, such as road traffic accidents.
But a group of doctors in Ireland, writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, describe these injuries in three young rugby players and say "we have not previously encountered these injuries in a juvenile sporting population"
The injuries were sustained while playing rugby union, two during seasonal match play and one during a training drill. Previously, the doctors reported two acetabular fractures in two other young rugby players, aged 16 and 24 years.
