5 players who were injured for the longest time in 21st century
Football is one of the most physical contact sports in the world and injuries are very common in the sport. Often, footballers spend long spells on the sidelines with different kinds of injuries sustained during matches. Sometimes, players pick up injuries during training sessions between matches or suffer freak injuries away from the sport.
All in all, it is a given that footballers pick up injuries on a regular basis in their careers. Some players, however, suffer from the effects of injuries more than others due to their being injury prone, and this has hindered them from playing at their best.
A number of players have seen their promising careers fizzle out after suffering a series of unfortunate injuries. With this in mind, here is a list of the five most injured players in the 21st century, according to data collected by skores.com.
#5 Thomas Vermaelen (1366 days)
Former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen plies his trade in the J-League these days with Vissel Kobe alongside Spanish legend Andres Iniesta. The 36-year-old Belgium international enjoyed the best days of his career as an Arsenal player between 2009 and 2014, where he made 150 appearances.
The left-footed defender was nicknamed the Verminator by the Arsenal faithful for his quality on the pitch and ability to find the net. In his first season at the club, he scored eight goals in 45 appearances for Arsenal as he turned out consistently for them. Vermaelen's injury woes started in the 2010-11 season after he suffered an achilles injury in the first international break of the season. He played only five games for Arsenal in the entire season.
Thomas Vermaelen. Another player who never fulfilled his enormous potential. So unlucky with injuries. Classy footballer, gorgeous left foot. https://t.co/CmY3feBj8Q
Vermaelen moved to Barcelona in the summer of 2014 and only made his debut on the final day of the season for the Spanish giants. The experienced defender has missed a total of 1366 days of football through injury, suffering a total of 35 injuries in his career.
#4 Vincent Kompany (1419 days)
Vincent Kompany is regarded as one of the finest centre-backs to have graced the English Premier League. The 35-year-old is currently the manager of his boyhood club in Belgium's RSC Anderlecht after retiring from professional football.
Kompany started his professional career at Anderlecht before moving to Hamburg in 2006 as a 20-year-old. In his debut campaign, an achilles injury limited him to just six starts for the German side. Kompany's injury woes really started in 2015 as he suffered a series of recurring muscular strains that kept him out of action for long spells at a time.
Vincent Kompany is one of the most underrated CB’s ever imagine how good he could’ve been without the injuries twitter.com/theonekun1/sta…
The legendary Manchester City defender has a statue of himself outside the club's Etihad Stadium for his brilliant contribution to the club. Kompany missed a total of 1419 days through injury as he picked up 31 different injuries during his playing days.