Is it the heel instead?
Another growth-related pain, with a pain traffic light and gentler games.
Read about heel painChild Knee Pain Below the Kneecap After Football: What It Can Be and When to Ask
Kit, Rules & Safety
A sore bump below the kneecap is worth a proper look, not a guess.
This page shows what the sources say it can be, the NHS red flags and when to see a GP, and it leaves every diagnosis and treatment to a clinician.
A child with knee pain below the kneecap after football and a tender bump there fits a pattern that health pages call Osgood-Schlatter disease, a growth-related pain in active children. The NHS knee pain page lists it as a possible cause for teenagers and young adults with pain and swelling below the kneecap (NHS knee pain). Only a clinician can say if that is what it is. See a GP if the pain does not improve within a few weeks, and get advice from NHS 111 now for the red flags below (NHS knee pain). This page gives no treatment.
I used to hear "my knee hurts" on the way home from a kickabout and say it would be gone by tea, and I have learned that a sore spot which keeps coming back deserves a better answer than mine.
A growing bone and a pulling tendon
Osgood-Schlatter Disease and Football: What the Sources Say
A Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet says Osgood-Schlatter disease causes pain just below the kneecap, where the big tendon at the front of the leg joins the shin bone. It says this often affects children who play a lot of sport and are growing quickly, and that a small hard bump may appear.
A Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet describes pain or a tender lump just below the kneecap, often during rapid growth such as puberty. It names sports with running and jumping, "such as football, rugby, athletics and gymnastics". The American Academy of Pediatrics calls it "irritation of a growth plate at the knee".
Both leaflets say it is usually in one knee, sometimes both (Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet)(Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet). All three sources expect it to ease as growing finishes, and the leaflets say a painless bump sometimes remains (Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet)(Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet)(AAP page). They say a clinician can usually tell by asking and looking, and that scans are "not often needed" (Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet).
In one study of 140 boys who played soccer in Japan, 6 developed it over the follow-up, in 8 of their 280 knees, which is 2.9% of knees and 4.3% of players. The researchers found a still-maturing shin-bone growth area to be the only independent risk factor, not tight thigh muscles (2023 cohort study). It does not apply to girls or younger children, and it does not show that football causes it.
These are two NHS trust leaflets and a US paediatric page. None is a study of your child, and a leaflet cannot say what your child's knee is.
A leaflet can tell you what usually happens. It cannot tell you what is happening in your child's knee.
Sort it in two minutes
Child Knee Bump After Football: What You See and Who to Ask
This table shortens the NHS lists for knee pain and growing pains, so read the full pages as well (NHS knee pain)(NHS growing pains). It does not diagnose, and it does not replace them.
| Who to ask | What you see, in NHS wording |
|---|---|
| Get advice from NHS 111 now | A very painful knee. Your child cannot move the knee or put any weight on it. The knee is badly swollen or has changed shape. It locks, gives way or painfully clicks (painless clicking is normal). Or there is a very high temperature with redness or heat around the knee, which the NHS says can be a sign of infection. An urgent treatment centre is another route if you need to see someone now (NHS knee pain). A fall or twist before the pain starts is a different question: read the page on a sprained ankle and the way back for how an injury check goes, and ask a clinician. |
| See a GP, and note it first | Pain that does not improve within a few weeks (NHS knee pain). One knee or one leg that hurts during or after activity, or a limp. A child who also has a rash, swelling, unusual tiredness, loss of appetite or weight loss, or a high temperature with the leg pain. A tender bump below the kneecap that comes after running and kicking and eases with rest belongs here too, and the NHS says not to self-diagnose. The NHS growing pains page lists pain in 1 joint, such as the knee, as a reason to see a GP (NHS growing pains). |
Not the usual night ache
Growing Pains in the Knee? Why This Is Not That
The NHS describes growing pains as leg pain that is common in children aged 3 to 12, harmless, and felt as an ache in both legs in the evening or at night. It is gone by morning (NHS growing pains).
A pain in one knee that comes with running and kicking and sits in a spot you can point to is on the NHS "see a GP" list (NHS growing pains). So do not tell a child it is "just growing pains" and carry on. A different growth-related pain sits at the heel, and the page on heel pain after football covers that one.
A GP can say which it is; I cannot.
Turn the volume down, not off
Keeping Football Gentle While You Wait to Be Seen
I have also been the dad who, to keep the peace, said just one more game, and a sore knee is the moment to say a smaller game instead.
Ask your GP or physio how much football is right. This list is about swapping, not treating.
The leaflets and the AAP give wording worth knowing, though it is theirs and not a rule from this page. The Sherwood Forest leaflet says "do not push into strong pain" and "Training is often easier than playing games" (Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet). The Royal Berkshire leaflet lists "avoiding activities that aggravate the pain" among its strategies (Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet). The AAP says "In severe cases, athletes may need to stop or back off from their sport" (AAP page). The leaflets also list treatments, and a GP or physio chooses those.
- 1
Sit to pass. Pass a soft ball back and forth from sitting, which is what the picture below shows.
- 2
Walk the target game. Play a walking-pace version of the target game, using gentle passes.
- 3
Wall passes at a standing walk. Try a small wall or fence pass, as in the wall and fence passing games.
- 4
Skip the jumps and sprints for now, and pick up football later after the clinician says how.
- 5
Stop the game if your child says it hurts. A child who can say where it hurts is giving you the answer, so listen.
If your child is also unwell, read the page on playing football after being ill first.
Make the appointment count
A Short Note to Take to the GP
Copy this and fill in the blanks
- Which knee, or both: ______
- When it started: ______
- What activity brings it on: ______
- What eases it: ______
- Any fall or twist: ______
- Any bump, swelling, redness or heat: ______
- Any limp or night pain: ______
- Any of the red-flag signs in the table above: ______
The doctor decides what happens next.
What is known and what is not
What the Sources Say, and Where They Stop
Osgood-Schlatter's disease is listed for teenagers and young adults with pain and swelling below the kneecap, with the 111 and GP lists. That is the NHS page on knee pain, last reviewed 21 December 2023. The NHS has no dedicated Osgood-Schlatter page.
Growing pains are harmless, felt in both legs and come in the evening, and one-sided or activity pain is a reason to see a GP. That is the NHS page on growing pains, reviewed 16 June 2026.
Two leaflets describe the condition, expect it to ease as growing finishes and name football. They are a Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet on Osgood Schlatter's disease from September 2025 and a Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet on Osgood-Schlatter's condition from April 2025, one trust each.
The growth-plate description comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics page on Osgood-Schlatter disease, dated 2019 and written for the US. The figures on how many players developed it come from a 2023 prospective cohort study of young soccer players, which recruited 150 boys, analysed 140, included boys only and soccer players only, and was carried out in Japan.
These are NHS pages, two trust leaflets, a US paediatric page and one study of boys. No source I read says how much football a child with this should play or for how long, and none replaces a clinician who has examined your child's knee.
Quick answers
Common Questions About Knee Pain and Football
Is knee pain below the kneecap after football Osgood-Schlatter?
It can be. The NHS lists it as a possible cause for teenagers and young adults with pain and swelling below the kneecap, and says not to self-diagnose (NHS knee pain). A GP can say.
Why does my child have a bump below the kneecap?
The leaflets describe a growth area where a big tendon joins the shin bone, which can swell and form a bump in growing, active children (Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet)(Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet). Only a clinician can say what your child's bump is.
Are growing pains the same thing?
No. The NHS describes growing pains as an ache in both legs in the evening or at night, and lists pain in one knee or during activity as a reason to see a GP (NHS growing pains).
When should I see a GP?
The NHS says to see a GP if knee pain does not improve within a few weeks (NHS knee pain), and for the other signs in the table above (NHS growing pains).
When should I call 111?
The NHS says to get advice from 111 now for a very painful knee, or a knee your child cannot move or put weight on. The same goes for one that is badly swollen or changed shape, one that locks or gives way, or a very high temperature with a red, hot knee (NHS knee pain).
Does my child have to stop football?
This page cannot say. The leaflets and the AAP talk about backing off activities that hurt (Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet)(Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet)(AAP page). How much, and for how long, is for your GP or physio.
Will it go away?
The leaflets and the AAP say it is expected to ease as growing finishes, and a painless bump can remain (Sherwood Forest NHS trust leaflet)(Royal Berkshire NHS trust leaflet)(AAP page). This is general information, not a promise for your child.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three places to go next, depending on what is on your mind.
Did they twist it or fall?
NHS red flags for a rolled ankle and a staged way back, not for a knee.
Read about a sprained ankleWant a low-effort game now?
Small passing games against a wall or fence, built for a small space.
Read about wall passingTonight's five minutes
Fill in the note and book the appointment.
Copy the short note, write down what you see tonight and take it to the GP. Until then, swap one run for one pass.