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#2 Samuel Umtiti (France, Barcelona)
The French defender was rock solid at the back, as France rode their defensive strengths to lift the FIFA World Cup in 2018. In truth, Umtiti had been one of the best defenders in Europe for a couple of seasons now and has been attracting the attention of many big clubs with his performances.
The Frenchman's no-nonsense style of defending, coupled with his abilities on the ball has been hugely beneficial for his club as well as his country. He had become almost an indispensable part of his team in recent times and that is why his injury has severely impacted Barcelona this season, who have already conceded 20 goals in La Liga so far.
Umtiti picked up a knee injury at the end of September, which kept him out of action for 43 days and saw him miss 9 games for Barcelona. His return to action was short - he was an unused substitute in the defeat at the hands of Real Betis at the start of November and started the next game against Athletico Madrid at the end of October.
After that, he was sidelined again, with a recurring knee injury which has kept him out of action since then. He has now missed another 8 games and will not be returning any time soon. Valverde has recently suggested that the Frenchman might return to training in January, but a return date cannot be stated right now.
Barcelona will be hoping for his swift return as they prepare for a busy rest of the season.
