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A successful footballing career can be disrupted by either a significant and catastrophic drop in form or a dreadful injury record. Countless talented football players have seen their careers held back or even halted because of the aforementioned causes.
The grueling schedules of professional football have led to plenty of wear and tear for footballers. The result has been players facing long-term injuries that have kept them out of the game for an extended period.
It is still possible to turn around a negative run of form. A major injury, on the other hand, can completely derail a player's potential, hamper their growth and dent their development years. In this article, we will count down five wonderkids whose immense talents have been undermined by injury problems.
#5. Mikkel Damsgaard (Sampdoria)
After an electric Euro 2020 with Denmark, in which Mikkel Damsgaard's two goals and one assist lit up the tournament, big things were expected of the 21-year old this term.
Following a summer of speculation linking him with several European giants, the left-winger decided to continue his development at Sampdoria. He joined the Genoese club in 2020. Unfortunately for Damsgaard, he injured his thigh after just seven league games and did not contribute a single goal to that point.
He has missed 18 games and counting since, meaning he has still only made 42 appearances in Europe's top 5 leagues with two goals and four assists to show for his efforts. This might make a move to an elite European club extremely unlikely in 2022.
#4. Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)
Overturning the juggernaut that is Bayern Munich, winners of the last nine Bundesliga titles, was always going to be a tall order for Borussia Dortmund. But their horrendous luck with injury has made it almost impossible.
Raphael Guerreiro, Thorgan Hazard and Dan-Axel Zagadou have started just 18 games between them. Meanwhile, key players like Mahmoud Dahoud and Erling Haaland have missed a combined 18 matches. But the saddest case without a doubt has been Giovanni Reyna.
Coming off the back of a hugely promising 2021 campaign, this was supposed to be the year the 19-year-old truly entered the elite. But after two goals in three league games, the American injured his hamstring during a World Cup qualifier on 3 September, 2021 and has since remained sidelined.
Having missed 25 league games already, Dortmund fans will be delighted to hear that Reyna could be back at the start of February. Still clinging on to hopes for their first Bundesliga title in 10 years, this is fantastic news for the Dortmund faithful.
#3. Wesley Fofana (Leicester City)
Wesley Fofana was one of the standout defenders of the 2020-21 season with Leicester City. He subverted the logic of young centre-backs struggling to step up to the physicality of the Premier League.
Despite being just 19 when he made his debut for the Foxes, the French defender more than held his own in the English top flight. But with Leicester making smarter signings the previous summer, Fofana's pre-season preparations were disrupted in the cruelest fashion.
He suffered a broken leg following a brutal and unnecessary challenge from Villarreal forward Fer Nino midway through a friendly in August. This forced Leicester to re-enter the market, buying Southampton's Jannick Vestergaard as they commenced the season with an injury-ravaged backline.
Fofana, before his injury, looked like a player destined for the very top. But has now seen his development pushed back by at least six months. Recent reports suggest he could return to the team in February this year.
#2. Ansu Fati (Barcelona)
In the autumn of 2020, Ansu Fati truly had the world at his feet. In the weeks leading up to his 18th birthday, the Spanish forward became Barcelona's talisman. He compensated for the unusually poor form of the club's captain Lionel Messi.
With Messi's future up in the air, the stage was set for Fati to become the new figure-head at the Camp Nou. But after registering seven goal contributions in ten appearances, he suffered a knee injury in November 2020. Following the surgery, he was expected to be out for four months. However, it would end up being ten months before Fati re-entered the field in September 2021.
To make matters worse, he was put out of action again almost instantly. He missed two games after returning from knee trouble before picking up a hamstring injury.
During Barcelona's Copa del Rey clash against Athletico Bilbao earlier this month, the young star suffered yet another big setback and left the pitch in tears. Reports suggest this could keep him out of action for a further two months.
Barca fans will be hoping dearly that 2022-23 is the season that Fati finally has a fair run at fulfilling his huge potential.
#1. Jeff Reine-Adelaide (Lyon)
You'd be pushed to find a young player who has endured as much injury trouble over the last few years as Jeff Reine-Adelaide.
The French attacker has only been able to play half a season of football since suffering an ACL injury back in December 2019. That summer he moved from Anger to Lyon for £25 million and had been impressing at the Groupama Stadium.
However, he was subsequently loaned to Nice where he once again dazzled and completed 3.6 dribbles a game. But disaster struck once again on the south coast with the youngster succumbing to another cruciate ligament injury. It was an ordeal that has kept him out of action ever since February 2021.
Once one of the most promising players in Ligue 1, the former Arsenal man has missed some of his most important years of development on the treatment table. He recently started training back at Lyon. However, there's no doubt that Adelaide will take time to rediscover the confidence that made him such an exciting player to watch.
