The age-old club versus country debate is a highly poignant one, particularly in England where FIFA and the FA are regularly at loggerheads about the importance of one over the other. Both sides have been equally blamed for a gruelling schedule that, unfortunately, hampers genuinely talented players in their quest to establish themselves on both the country and the club level together.
Over time, some players have been found to be more prone to injuries than others, often ruling them out of games for long periods of time. Most of them sustain injuries while on call for the England national team leading to a massive setback in their club statistics.
We look at five such English players whose injuries have led to them missing out important club games while at the same time be completely fit and available when it comes to playing for their country.
1) Theo Walcott
The forward for Arsenal and England had an injury ridden season in 2009-10 which led to a severe setback for his Arsenal career that year. He registered only 15 starts for the club and was unable to play a complete 90 minutes until December 2009 and ended up being out of training for nearly 23 games that season.
In summer 2009, Walcott participated in the England U21 squad in the European Championship despite concerns over his club performance suffering as a result.
In the 2010-11 season, Walcott missed a total of thirteen games owing to a malleolar fracture and a sprained ankle. The same season he made his first start for the national team of England in a World Cup qualifier.
Walcott started representing England from 2006 when he was surprisingly included in England’s World Cup squad despite having made only thirteen appearances for a senior club side. Since then, he has consistently represented England in most major tournaments and occasionally scored goals but is recuperating from an injury he suffered for Arsenal.
2) Kieran Gibbs
Gibbs missed 33 games for Arsenal in the 2009-10 season. For the remainder of the season, the English defender was absent for a major portion playing the role of the second choice left-back after Gael Clichy was injured.
Even after progressing to the position of the first choice left-back for Arsene Wenger's squad, Gibbs was unable to make full use of the opportunity. In the first leg of the game against Sunderland at home, Gibbs suffered apparent stomach problems five minutes into the second half. The following month, he underwent a hernia operation and was expected to be ruled out for at least six months.
His injury record continued in the 2012-13 season as Gibbs missed 18 games for Arsenal due to a muscle pull.
Gibbs, along with Arsenal team-mate Theo Walcott, started off his England career as a consistent member of England’s U19 and U21 squad in 2008 and 2009 respectively. He scored two goals for his side in a pre-tournament friendly, while sitting out most of the season for the Gooners.
His first appearance for the England senior squad came in 2010 in a friendly against Hungary. He was included in the 2013 squad for England by new manager Roy Hodgson. Although the defender was fit at the close of last season. he was omitted from the squad that travelled to France.
3) Michael Owen
Owen's tryst with injuries started while he was at Newcastle United after spending a brief period of time in Spain, and they were a catalyst in the process of the slow destruction of his career. He underwent surgery in 2005 and suffered complications while in recovery which ruled him out of active play till April the following year.
Owen became the youngest ever goal scorer in a World Cup after an equaliser against Romania and caught the eye of then English manager Glenn Hoddle who included him in the following game vs Colombia.
From then on he regularly started for England in the UEFA Euro 2000 and in the 2002 World Cup. He scored five goals for England each in the 2004 Euro Qualifiers and the 2006 World Cup.
His England career ended after they failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Newcastle, however, did not get the chance to reap the abundant talent that was Michael Owen too much.
In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he sustained a knee injury in the first minute of the game against Hungary and was instrumental in sparking up the old, drawn out English debate regarding Club and Country that led to a monetary compensation by FIFA to the FA.
4) Jack Wilshere
2012-13 was one of the worst seasons in Jack Wilshere's club career where he missed fifty games for Arsenal. He featured in a friendly for England against Denmark which resulted in a hairline fracture leading him to miss an FA Cup semi-final match against Wigan.
In February 2013, however, international prospects for Wilshere seemed to be on track as he delivered a brilliant performance in England's game against Brazil at Wembley. He was available and selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. He started just one match out of the three that England played before shocking exit from the tournament.
In November 2014 he was again ruled out for six months following an injury picked up in a game at Old Trafford. Wilshere has not played a complete 90 minutes in a game since September 2014.
Wilshere was ruled out for nearly four months for Arsenal following a broken fibula in the 2015-16 season. Despite this, he made important appearances for England in the qualifying rounds for Euro 2016 where he was named MOTM for six out of seven games.
He is a part of the Euro 2016 squad despite playing only three games for Arsenal this season. Here’s to hoping international games do not injure him enough to rule him out next season.
5) Daniel Sturridge
The unpredictable Liverpool forward is known to be quite a workhorse adept at scoring goals when he is fit to play. With his club career unfortunately marred with numerous injuries, Sturridge has proved to be quite indispensable for his country; case in point being England's most recent match against Wales in Euro 2016.
The 2013-14 season at Liverpool was a brilliant one for Sturridge as he, along with Luis Suarez and captain Steven Gerrard formed the talismanic trio that was responsible for Liverpool's dream run and strong title challenge.
He started the 2014-15 season for Liverpool late after picking up a thigh injury while on duty representing England. Then manager Brendan Rodgers expressed disapproval at the national team's handling of Daniel Sturridge. The Liverpool star also missed the beginning of the 2015-16 season for his club to recuperate from a hip operation in May 2015.
Sturridge, surprisingly, has consistently played at the international level. In the 2012 Summer Olympics where he was a part of an eighteen man squad for the Great Britain Olympic football team. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Sturridge played in the match vs Italy scoring the nation's only goal in a 2-1 defeat of his side.
His most recent goal in Euro 2016 comes after nearly a season of absence from his club. It is amazing what a bit of rest does to his form. Unfortunately performing well for England comes at the cost of staying out for most of his Liverpool games, which does not quite seem fair to supporters of the club given Liverpool's current form.
