10 most unfortunate injuries to high-profile footballers

#3 Petr Cech - Depressed skull fracture

Ironically, it was from a gruesome injury that Petr Cech’s metamorphosis into one of the greatest goalkeepers the world has ever seen flourished. Having initially dreamed of becoming an ice hockey goalkeeper, a broken leg at the age of 10 handed the now 33-year-old the incentive to work on his catching and reactions while laid up and he grew to favour keeping on a football pitch.

Fast forward 14 years or so, after Chelsea snapped him up for £7 million from Rennes in 2004, amidst the intense heat of Chelsea’s league encounter with Reading in 2006, the onrushing Cech collided with Royals’ midfielder Stephen Hunt, resulting in the latter’s knee thumping the head of the then-Blues shot-stopper.

Due to the momentum of the clash, the casualty bore serious repercussions for Cech, not least the infamous head guard which the Czechoslovakian is so often associated with. It was described as a depressed skull fracture and was so significant because, not only was it the first time we’d seen such a serious head injury in such a high-profile match, but it also opened the door to questions regarding the protection of goalkeepers on the pitch.

Fortunately, Cech returned much earlier than originally predicted, following a successful surgery on his fractured skull. He remains one of the sharpest goalkeepers in world football, now playing with Arsenal in North London, but claims to have no recollection of how or when the injury occurred.