Injuries are a major setback in football, cutting short the potential of the players’ careers.
Here are the 10 most injury-prone players in football history and have assessed how long they have each spent on the sidelines.
1. Holger Badstuber (1305 days out injured)
Badstuber, a German defender spent eight years at Bayern Munich but only averaged 22 appearances per season as he would regularly be on the sidelines.
He suffered numerous ankle and muscle injuries and was sidelined for the entire 2013–14 campaign with a cruciate ligament injury. He quit his playing career in 2022, aged 33.
2. Marco Reus (1313 days injured)
Marco Reus missed the 2014 World Cup as a result of a foot injury and also had to sit out of the 2016 Euros and 2022 World Cup.
Despite the constant injury troubles that he’s battled with, he is still going strong for Borussia Dortmund today. This season he’s produced six goals and three assists for Edin Terzic’s side.
3. Ronaldo (1324 days injured)
Brazilian legend during his peak was unstoppable for many players. Ronaldo was a perfect blend of pace, power, skills, and technique.
It was only injuries that prevented him from potentially becoming the best player of all time.
4. Franck Ribery (1363 days injured)
The Frenchman often showed up when it mattered for Bayern Munich but missed a lot of games during his playing time. In total, the winger missed 227 games throughout his career and suffered from 72 separate injuries.
5. Thomas Vermaelen (1366 days injured)
The Belgian defender was one to look out for following a blistering debut season at Arsenal played 45 games across all competitions and earned a spot in the PFA Team of the Season.
However, his injury troubles commenced the following year and he was never the same player afterward. He missed the vast majority of the 2010–11 with an Achilles tendon injury and that was just the start of his injury hell.
Vermaelen’s injury woes continued into his Barcelona days as he only managed 53 appearances for the club across four years. He spent his final days playing with Vissel Kobe before announcing his retirement in 2022.
6. Vincent Kompany (1419 days injured)
Kompany is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in England’s history and got his hands on 12 trophies during his time in England.
Injuries especially took their toll on the Belgium defender during his final four years in England.
7. Jack Wilshere (1470 days injured)
The Gunners had a generational prospect on their hands, but injuries never made it come to reality for the young ace.
“My first injury was my worst and I paid a lot for that,” Wilshere told The Fozcast. “It was my right ankle, the talus – I fractured that – I was 19. Six years later, I went back to see the surgeon and he was like, ‘Oh, you’re still playing?!”
After missing a total of 1470 days through injury, Wilshere retired in 2022, aged 30.
8. Arjen Robben (1507 days injured)
Robben had similar cases with teammate Ribery. When they were both on the pitch together for Bayern Munich it was absolutely a scene to witness. However, it didn’t last long as injuries took a big part of them.
Throughout the Dutch winger’s spell in Germany, he only averaged 20 league appearances per season. Still, he didn’t exactly need much time on the pitch to make an impact.
9. Stevan Jovetic (1510 days injured)
Stevan Jovetic seems the most pitiable, suffering two ACL injuries throughout his career. His time in the Premier League with Manchester City isn’t remembered often due to injuries.
Jovetic during his spell with Monaco was pitiable as he missed over 150 games for club and country between 2017 and 2021.
He’s still playing today for Olympiacos but still hasn’t recovered from the incessant
10. Abou Diaby (1747 days injured)
This one is really painful. Diaby had the potential to go to the very top with Arsenal, but injuries had other ideas.
In total, he missed 314 games throughout his career and spent a total of 1747 days on the sidelines equivalent to 4.7 years being injured