Defence
While Chelsea were having a disastrous start to the Premier League season as defending champions, two players still shone through with their class. One was Willian and the other was Kurt Zouma. The young French defender was putting in performances to be remembered while the rest of the defence fell apart around him.
The 21-year-old suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in February. The defender had gone up for a header and landed awkwardly on his leg which buckled at a nightmarish and unnatural angle, leaving him screaming as he lay prone on the pitch.
Zouma required a surgery and was set to be sidelined for at least six months.
Another Premier League centre-back who makes the list is Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany. The Belgian defender has had a traumatic season with injury cutting short his game time on a number of occasions, forcing Manuel Pellegrini to make early substitutions, sometimes within the first 15 minutes.
Having managed only 13 league starts, City have struggled and stumbled along the way as they look to secure a top-four finish. With Kompany in the side, they have looked like worthy challengers. Without him, they have leaked goals at the back.
“I'll miss the Euros. To me that's very sad news,” Kompany said on Facebook. “So I could be standing here, feeling sorry for myself. I fear for my career as others may do.”
The third defender in this lineup is Manchester United’s Luke Shaw. The full-back stormed back into contention in Louis van Gaal’s squad this season after a rigorous training routine saw him build his fitness and had started the season very well.
That was until a horrific injury at PSV Eindhoven saw a rash tackle break the Englishman’s leg in half. Shaw was ruled out for the rest of the season as a result. Although he has returned to training, he is yet to return to full-time action and lacks the fitness or sharpness to play for England in Euro.
