#2 Ilkay Gundogan
Another German on the list, Gundogan has also been a victim of rotten luck with injuries. While the loss of a Gundogan would rob many teams of their creator-in-chief in midfield, Germany fortunately possess a wealth of riches in that department that allows them to offset the loss of Gundogan’s repeated absences at the international level.
The Gelsenkirchen-born then Borussia Dortmund midfielder had played his way into the German starting XI (no mean feat considering the German midfield boasts the likes of Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos) in 2013 on the back of stellar performances for Borussia Dortmund.
The midfield maestro went down with a long-term back injury in August 2013 that ruled him out for the World Cup set to be played in June.
In 2016, Gundogan was set to play a starring role for Germany in the Euro’s after being in top form for Borussia Dortmund throughout the season. Misfortune struck again just ten days before Joachim Loew’s preliminary squad announcement for the Euro’s, as Gundogan dislocated his kneecap in training.
He was set to be out for months again and missed the Euro’s. The midfielder’s ill-luck with injuries continues as he broke cruciate ligaments in his knee while playing for Manchester City which has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
