5 English players who have constantly been injured for their clubs but were fit for International tournaments
The age-old club versus country debate is a highly poignant one, particularly in England where FIFA and the FA are regularly at loggerheads about the importance of one over the other. Both sides have been equally blamed for a gruelling schedule that, unfortunately, hampers genuinely talented players in their quest to establish themselves on both the country and the club level together.
Over time, some players have been found to be more prone to injuries than others, often ruling them out of games for long periods of time. Most of them sustain injuries while on call for the England national team leading to a massive setback in their club statistics.
We look at five such English players whose injuries have led to them missing out important club games while at the same time be completely fit and available when it comes to playing for their country.
1) Theo Walcott
The forward for Arsenal and England had an injury ridden season in 2009-10 which led to a severe setback for his Arsenal career that year. He registered only 15 starts for the club and was unable to play a complete 90 minutes until December 2009 and ended up being out of training for nearly 23 games that season.
In summer 2009, Walcott participated in the England U21 squad in the European Championship despite concerns over his club performance suffering as a result.
In the 2010-11 season, Walcott missed a total of thirteen games owing to a malleolar fracture and a sprained ankle. The same season he made his first start for the national team of England in a World Cup qualifier.
Walcott started representing England from 2006 when he was surprisingly included in England’s World Cup squad despite having made only thirteen appearances for a senior club side. Since then, he has consistently represented England in most major tournaments and occasionally scored goals but is recuperating from an injury he suffered for Arsenal.