The greatest threat to every footballer’s career is sustaining an injury. Injuries have ended the careers of footballers, and in other cases have robbed the world of extraordinary talent. There are players whose rise to the pinnacle of football was only hampered because of the numerous injuries they sustained during their careers. Other players were forced to bow out of the game very early on, robbing the world of their extraordinary talents. Today, we take a look at the most talented players whose careers were hampered by injuries.
3. Abou Diaby
Abou Diaby is a French player whose extraordinary talents at a younger age in Auxerre drew comparisons to Arsenal legend Patrick Viera. Diaby’s talent as a deep-lying playmaker drew offers from several clubs in the Premier League, including Chelsea, but he opted to sign for Arsenal, a London based club.
In 2008, he bore a thigh injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. After battling for two years with the thigh injury, Diaby returned to action in 2010 but was once again forced to sit out after sustaining an injury. In 2013, it was announced Diaby had torn his anterior cruciate ligament and would be out for nine months. He returned on May 2014 but would sustain another injury in November to stay for another three months.
Arsenal released him on 10 June 2015, citing his medical problems. His injuries would, however, follow him to Marseille, where he was once again sidelined for four months. It is without a doubt that repetitive injuries never allowed us to see the best of Abou Diaby.
2.Robinho
Robinho’s precocious performances at a tender age garnered wide praise from football experts around the world, including fellow Brazilian, Pele, who named him as his heir. Yet several injuries throughout his career have prevented us from seeing the Robinho the world expected.
Though Robinho’s career, that includes a FIFA Confederations Cup and Copa America win, can be widely considered successful, it is without a doubt he failed to meet the hype and expectations he gained at the start of his career, and a large part of that is the result of the injuries he sustained throughout his career. Robinho’s injuries at Real Madrid, Manchester City halted what had been a somewhat impressive string of performances and in both cases relegated him backwards in the pecking order of players.
1. Ronaldo
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo is not a player to call a failure in football. Throughout his career, he won almost any accolade a player could have dreamt of. However, it is a known fact Ronaldo’s record of career injuries have hampered significantly his career.
Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit hours before the 1998 World Cup final, and it had a major impact on him as he was virtually absent throughout the match, undermining his impressive performance in the tournament. His buckled knee injury in 2000 ended his impressive performances for Inter Milan and forced him to stay out football for almost two years. These injuries would later follow him to Real Madrid and AC Milan and he finally bowed out of the game he loved.
Though he won three FIFA World Player of the Year awards, the FIFA World Cup, and the Copa America, among several club awards, one can only imagine what his career would have been had he not sustained many injuries in his career. He had this to say in his emotional farewell speech in Brazil, “It’s very hard to leave something that made me so happy. Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body.