9 players whose seasons were cut-short by injuries

Thomas Vermaelen played only one match for Barcelona in the 2014/15 season

Injuries add the “what-if” factor each season for clubs who would rather not deal with it. From the top to the bottom, from the fight for the Championship to the battle for relegation, injuries, unfortunately, play a huge role in deciding the fate of clubs.

Today, we take a look-back at players whose seasons were either completely/ partly ruined by injuries and how it affected their game and their team's momentum –

Thomas Vermaelen

The Arsenal captain made the move across Europe to join Barcelona in the summer but ended the season with just 1 appearance for the Catalans, made in their match against Deportivo.

The Belgian was plagued by injuries throughout 2014, delaying his debut for the club, and finally underwent surgery on December 2^nd 2014 to get rid of his recurrent hamstring injury struggles.

It took him about 5-and-a-half months after his surgery, to make his debut for the Blaugrana.

Daniel Sturridge

The Liverpool juggernaut that was the SAS last season is nothing but a distant memory. The departure of Luis Suarez, who went looking for pastures anew at the Nou Camp was followed by more bad news for the Koppers, as his partner in crime, Daniel Sturridge spent more time on the doctor’s table than on the field.

A combination of thigh, hip, hamstring, calf and ankle ligament problems meant that the England international had to sit out more than 50 games last season. Liverpool were found short on both creativity and pace as Sturridge, who scored 35 goals in his first 18 months since arriving from Chelsea, received treatment, with the Mario Balotelli experiment looking a disaster with every passing day.

Siem de Jong

The ex-Ajax captain was the first piece of business done by the Magpies early in the summer. The Dutchman was basically touted to be a shoe-in to fill the large void of creativity in the middle of the park that had existed ever since the departure of Yohan Cabaye.

However, for Newcastle, the impact on the pitch was never like the narrative they had on their script as a pre-season injury to his thigh ruled him out for the first four months of the season. After making a meek return against Aston Villa, the Dutchman was diagnosed with a new problem of a collapsed lung.

In all, De Jong made only 4 appearances for Newcastle last season, with his only goal coming against Swansea. Hopefully, we will see the best of the Dutchman in the coming season.

Michael Carrick

Manchester United shelled out £18million in 2006 to bring the England international to Old Trafford from Tottenham. Nearly a decade on and the investment looks more like a bargain.

Carrick has, over the years, more than justified his price-tag and become the bedrock in the middle of the pitch upon which United have built their success. Even at the age of 33, the former England international makes his subtle presence felt and the stats don’t lie about it.

Louis van Gaal had a difficult time getting-off to a good start without the influence of Carrick in the middle. The opening nine games were without the ex-West ham prodigy, which saw the Red Devils win only three whilst conceding 13 goals. Another injury saw him miss 6 weeks, from late February to almost the end of March.

United have only lost one of the 17 games the 33-year-old midfielder has started this season.

Andy Carroll

The opening day of the season saw Andy Carroll looking on from the stands nursing an injury. Nine months later when the curtains came down on the season for the Hammers with a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle, the scene hadn’t changed much. The pony-tailed striker was still looking on from the stands, nursing another setback.

After making a late start to the campaign in November, torn ligaments in his left knee meant that the Geordie would have to prematurely blow the candles out for the season. The big forward made only 14 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 5 goals.

Since moving from Liverpool three seasons for a hefty sum of £15 million, the Londoners are yet to see the England international repay them, having registered 53 games for the Upton Park outfit in his three seasons there.

Lorenzo Insigne

A 4-2 loss on the final day of Serie A meant that the North Italian town of Naples won’t be a fixture in the Champions League next season. However, this shouldn’t have come to pass if Napoli and Rafa Benitez had their say in the injury department.

Napoli fans feared the worst when local favourite Lorenzo Insigne went down in a heap in November. Their fears were confirmed to be true when it was announced after further tests on the forward that he had indeed ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. This should have meant the end of the season for the Italian but, in an amazing comeback, the talented Insigne was back on the pitch by February.

However, the damage had been done. In the 17 games that he missed in the Serie A, Rafa Benitez saw his side go on a winless run of four games, which was a far cry from the dominant Partenopei that had the beating of both Fiorentina as well as Roma, before Insigne’s untimely departure. The last day heartbreak was just the final nail in their coffin.

Ricardo Montolivo

AC Milan struggled mightily this season, finishing 10th in the Serie A this time around. It should come as no surprise that their diabolic condition coincides with the absence of their midfield general Ricardo Montolivo.

The Italian international had missed the World Cup in the summer owing to a fractured tibia. The same injury had ruled the Milan captain out for the first twelve games of the Serie A.

The joys of his return in December were short-lived as 10 games in, the Italian international had to pay a visit back to the doctor’s table again. A hamstring problem spelt the end of Montolivo’s season in February.

Kevin Strootman

Roma were poised to challenge for the title this season after further strengthening from last season’s campaign and the timely departure of Antonio Conte from Juventus. However, lady luck never quite got around smiling on them.

Their influential Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman missed all but six games this campaign as the 25-year-old required a second operation on his knee in less than a year. The surgery which happened in January sidelined him for six months after he was forced to miss nearly eight months of play in 2014.

With Strootman sidelined and Pjanic also suffering from knee problems of his own, Rudi Garcia’s side fell well off the pace of the Champions, eventually finishing 17 points clear of Juventus.

Luka Modric

The Croatian superstar had just got back into his groove when an untimely injury brought the curtains down prematurely for the midfielder. After returning from a four month absence on the field due to a hamstring injury, the 29-year-old had rather quickly weaved himself into Carlo Ancelotti’s blueprint and was looking the part.

However, on April 19, the former Spurs man suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee during a 3-1 win over Malaga. This season, thus, turned into a frustrating one for Modric, as he tallied only 16 appearances for Los Blancos. His absence was a major factor in them not being able to win any silverware this season.