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Through no fault of their own, a lot of players pick up injuries. They, unfortunately, catch bad breaks and have slight tears, or pull muscles. Every player gets them, it’s just some get them much worse, and much more frequently than others.
Robin van Persie, for example, spent months on the sidelines and was never able to score over 20 goals in a season before 2011/12, but after that, he played much more regularly. However, for others, like Abou Diaby, they are never able to shake off their injury problems.
Sadly, injuries are just part of the game and here we look at an all-time Premier League injured XI.
GK: Petr Cech
Despite having made so many appearances since arriving in the Premier League, Cech is most definitely the most injured goalkeeper. Most notably, his horrible skull fracture kept him out for his longest period, but he has also spent time out injured on four occasions due to a calf injury and twice due to an injury to his thigh.
The current Arsenal number one has made a massive 402 Premier League appearances, a number which will rise again this season, but for a goalkeeper, he has picked up quite a few injuries in his time.
Defenders
RB: Tony Hibbert
Hibbert spent 16 years playing for Everton in the Premier League and retired last year after a successful career. However, his career could have been even more successful and he could have played even more games if it wasn’t for injury.
From 2011 to 2016, Hibbert spent an enormous 768 days on the injury table, which kept the Englishman from having much involvement at all in his final seasons where he appeared just 12 times in his final four seasons.
CB: Vincent Kompany
Manchester City fans still suffer from the time spent out by their captain Vincent Kompany. However, despite spending so much time on the sidelines, the Belgian has still achieved a lot in England, winning two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup.
However, more recently, Kompany has struggled to get any game time at all due to injury. Last season he made just 11 league appearances and just 14 the year before. At the end of April this year, his tally of days spent out injured reached a huge 647 since 2011.
CB: Phil Jones
Alongside Vincent Kompany in the Premier League’s most injured XI is Phil Jones. Jones was once described as future John Terry, but he hasn’t come close to emulating anything the Chelsea captain did.
Jones has, similarly to Kompany, spent a lot of time out with injury since 2011. The defender had spent 727 days overall on the sidelines by April, coming sixth on the list of the most injured Premier League players.
LB: Kieran Gibbs
Since 2009, Kieran Gibbs has suffered 36 different injuries, which has plagued the English full back’s career. The list of injury includes lots of ankle and foot problems, but regardless of the type of injury, they have disrupted his development enormously.
As he was slowly becoming Arsenal’s first choice full back, injuries got the better of him. Because of how injury prone he became, Arsene Wenger had to buy a new full back, Nacho Monreal, who has eventually overtaken the Englishman.
Midfielders
RM: Steven Pienaar
You’ve probably forgotten all about him, that’s how little he has played in recent years. He has made just 25 league appearances in the past three seasons, a very short amount for a talented winger that Steven Pienaar is.
Ever since his move to Tottenham in 2011, the South African has never been the same player he was before the move. The move was never right and since then, injuries plagued the end of the 35-year-old’s Premier League career.
CM: Abou Diaby
The Frenchman could have been one of the best players in the Premier League, but he failed to stay fit for a complete season. In nine years at Arsenal, he made just 124 league appearances in total, a tiny amount when in comparison, Theirry Henry made 254 league appearances in eight years.
Diaby was a monster on his day, as all Arsenal fans knew. But his place in the Premier League injured XI is certainly deserved, with him having made over 20 league appearances in just two seasons out of ten.
CM: Jack Wilshere
Alongside Abou Diaby is, as expected, Jack Wilshere, another Arsenal player. Wilshere was unsurprisingly tipped to be one of the best English midfielders in his playing time, as the then-19-year-old, put on a display, outplaying Iniesta and Xavi for Barcelona in 2011. In that season, Wilshere made 35 Premier League appearances, the next season, 0.
The stress fracture and the time he spent out from that injury when he was 19 years old has haunted the 25-year-old’s career. He has never fully recovered and never played a season like he did 2010/11 again. He still has time ahead of him but it is certainly sure that so far, injuries have destroyed a great talent.
LM: Tomas Rosicky
One final Arsenal player in the XI is Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky enjoyed some great times at Arsenal, but if it were not for some horrific injuries which kept him out for so long, he could have enjoyed some more success with the club.
He missed the whole of the 2008/09 season with a hamstring injury and he also played just ten times in 2012/13. Overall in his 10 years and 11 seasons at the club, he made just 170 league appearances, a number close to Abou Diaby’s, emphasising how little he played due to injury.
Strikers
ST: Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll has really struggled to stay injury free for a whole season for a number of years now. Since joining the Hammers in 2013, he has made over 20 appearances in a season just once. This is an awful statistic for a player who for all of that time was most definitely considered as West Ham’s number one striker.
Carroll has undeniable talent and gives every central defender he plays against a lot to deal with, but he spends so much time not playing football, because of small, niggly injuries. Since being at West Ham he has yet to have an injury free season, meaning he has certainly confirmed his place in this injury XI.
ST: Daniel Sturridge
Daniel Sturridge, where to start? The Englishman is unfortunately never not-injured. Fans have almost become accustomed to him being injured that it is a surprise when he plays or appears on the bench.
In 10 Premier League seasons where Daniel Sturridge has been considered a first team player, he has played over 20 times on just four occasions. One of those being last season where he regularly featured from the bench and not as a starter. He is now reaching a crucial stage in his career at 27 years old, and it will be important for him to stay fit throughout next season.
