There is nothing worse in football than seeing talent permanently crippled by injury. It’s like being forced to watch a brilliant artist paint only half a canvas before he is forced to stop. Their whole career is spent fighting the inequitable battle against their own bodies, never quite able to reach their full potential.
Other players overcome their injury problems and go on to achieve greatness; even then, the question always begs: What more could they have done if they kept fit?
The Premier League is a war zone, a battleground where the pace and demands that go hand in glove with the league so often separate the great from the hapless. Some players can’t ever seem to shake themselves clear of the injury trap, and their careers end up being those what-if stories of untapped potential.
Today, we take a look at 10 of the most injury-prone players ever to grace the Premier League.
- 1. Abou Diaby – 1,747 Days Missed
- 2. Thiago Alcantara – 1,560 Days Missed
- 3. Stevan Jovetić – 1,510 Days Missed
- 4. Arjen Robben – 1,507 Days Missed
- 5. Jack Wilshere – 1,470 Days Missed
- 6. Vincent Kompany – 1,419 Days Missed
- 7. Thomas Vermaelen – 1,366 Days Missed
- 8. Gareth Bale – 1,079 Days Missed
- 9. Darren Anderton – 1,000 Days Missed
- 10. Reece James – 640 Days Missed (And Counting)
1. Abou Diaby – 1,747 Days Missed
Diaby’s career could define “what could have been.” When he signed for Arsenal in 2006, the expectation was that he might turn into the next Patrick Vieira, a midfield general for the Gunners.
However, that dream was shattered when, in 2006, Sunderland’s Dan Smith tackled him and left him with a broken ankle and ruptured ligaments. This was only the beginning.
Throughout his career with Arsenal, he was always out with injuries.
His story is one of personal tragedy: from ankle surgeries to muscular tears, it was as if his body just wouldn’t hold up. The frustration of Arsène Wenger was almost palpable: “If you do that to a guy in the street, you go to jail,” he once said about the tackle that effectively derailed Diaby’s career.
Diaby is perhaps the most unfortunate player ever to have played in the Premier League, having missed over 314 matches due to injury.
2. Thiago Alcantara – 1,560 Days Missed
Alcantara was a footballer blessed with incredible talent but cursed with a body that just couldn’t take it. Hailed by many as the best midfielder of his generation, his career has been marred by injury-from Barcelona to Bayern Munich and then on to the Premier League.
Thiago joined Liverpool in 2020 with big expectations, but true to form, the injuries managed to get worse.
All the while the Spanish maestro was never fit long enough to sustain peak levels of performance. His hips always gave him some bother at Liverpool, and he announced his retirement in 2024 following another injury layoff.
In a cruel stroke of irony, having been out for almost 10 months with one injury, within a few weeks of his finally returning, he sustained a new injury that ended his career.
3. Stevan Jovetić – 1,510 Days Missed
Remember that time when Manchester City splurged on Jovetić in 2013, expecting him to be a game-changing forward?
Well, his time at City turned out to be less about goals and more about groans – specifically, the groans of frustrated fans watching him spend more time with the medical team than on the pitch.
In his first two seasons in the Etihad, Jovetić managed just 30 appearances as calf and hamstring injuries took their toll on his body.
The fact that the Montenegrin had all the natural flair and talent to make it to the very top did not help; his body simply refused to cooperate.
Two major calf injuries and several hamstring issues kept him out of the pitch for large chunks of his career. He was a player of huge promise, yet injuries always had the final say.
SEE ALSO | ACL Injuries in Football: Why They Happen
4. Arjen Robben – 1,507 Days Missed
Before Arjen Robben became known for cutting in from the right and firing into the top corner for Bayern Munich, he was doing similar things at Chelsea when he was fit.
three-year spell that Robben spent at Stamford Bridge from 2004 to 2007 was constantly hampered by several injuries. He missed no less than 27 matches in his first season alone, a sign of things to come about his entire career.
Despite all the time on the treatment table, Robben still managed to have a very fruitful career; he won major trophies with Chelsea and Bayern, including the Champions League.
One can’t but help wonder how much more he could have achieved had he stayed fit consistently.
5. Jack Wilshere – 1,470 Days Missed
Ask any Arsenal supporter about Jack Wilshere, and the stories of brilliance will be repeated with the same frequency as those concerning heartbreak.
Still, his game against Barcelona in 2011 where he outplayed the likes of Xavi and Iniesta remains one of the finest midfield displays seen by a young player. Like a firework that flickers brightly and then fades, Wilshere’s career was unfortunately plagued by a raft of injuries.
His ankles and knees took a beating from his trying-to-be-hard playing style. His body seemed to crumble under the expectation.
When he retired in 2022, it felt like a career cut tragically short.
6. Vincent Kompany – 1,419 Days Missed
Kompany is a Premier League legend, a four-time champion, and one of the most iconic players in Manchester City’s history.
But for all his success, the body of Kompany often betrayed the Belgian centre-back missing over 1,400 days through injury, with calf, shin, and other muscular issues often interrupting his time at City.
Despite these setbacks, he still managed to lift trophies and score one of the most powerful goals in Premier League history, a 30-yard thunderbolt against Leicester City in 2019 that effectively won City the title.
His story is one of resilience. While he never managed to stay fit consistently on the pitch, he was often unbeatable.
7. Thomas Vermaelen – 1,366 Days Missed
Vermaelen’s time at Arsenal can be summed up in two words, which are brilliant but broken. The Belgian center-back was a rock at the back when fit, captained the side, commanding in presence.
But the problem was Vermaelen wasn’t fit enough, and his availability a rare luxury.
He thus missed 267 games in his professional life because of injuries. In all, it was contributed by 35 different injuries. Achilles tendon problems were cruel to him.
When Barça comes calling for his service, knowing about his past experience with injuries, it did come as a surprise for many, but the injuries followed him to Spain too.
His time in Spain was pretty much the same: flashes of brilliance, too much time on the sidelines.
SEE ALSO | 10 Of The Most Common Soccer Injuries
8. Gareth Bale – 1,079 Days Missed
Bale is the most successful player in this list. With five Champions League medals under his belt with Real Madrid, Bale’s career was filled with glory and equally filled with injury.
His pace, power, and skill made life a nightmare for defenders; however, his body paid the price, whether through back problems, issues with his knee, or muscular injuries; Bale always seemed to be battling something.
Despite the injuries, he did manage to achieve a great deal. His loan return to Tottenham in the 2020/21 season really showed just how much his injuries had taken out of him.
By then, he was a shadow of his former self, unable to stay fit long enough to make a real impression.
9. Darren Anderton – 1,000 Days Missed
Anderton’s sad second name, “Sicknote,” tells you all you need to know about his injury record.
While he played more than 300 games in the Premier League for Tottenham and Birmingham City, he was always fighting fitness problems. A pity, as his ability was never in question.
For England, he has 30 caps and was a member of the Euro ’96 squad that reached the semi-finals, but at club level, the injuries stopped him from gaining consistency.
Anderton himself has bitten back at his “Sicknote” tag, rightly highlighting how he managed more than 24 appearances a season throughout his spell in the Premier League.
His career is defined as others are-not purely by what he achieved but by what injury denied him.
10. Reece James – 640 Days Missed (And Counting)
At 24, James makes this list with 640 days missed through injury; more disturbingly, his career is not anywhere near being over. Chelsea are already gnawing at their fingers as they hope the young right-back can clear the injury blues to live to his large potential.
Most frustrating for James, have been the hamstring injuries. Every time he gains momentum, another injury knocks him back.
If his body holds up, he could be one of the best defenders of his generation. But right now, the fear is that his career could be defined by the injuries rather than his undoubted talent.
SEE ALSO | How To Prevent Soccer Knee Injuries With Knee Exercises
