5 players who hit their peak after suffering a career-threatening injury

Football can be a brutal game at times and not in a nice way either. The last-ditch clearance, the crunching tackle or an ill-timed lunge are all part and parcel of the game. However, those very things can often lead to career-ending injuries for footballers, and over the course of football's history, plenty of players have had their careers ended or severely curtailed on the back of such injuries.

That being said, there are some players who have been able to overcome horrific, potentially career-ending injuries to come back stronger than ever. In fact, they hit their peaks as footballers after their return. Here is a look at 5 footballers who returned as much better players and went on to become top players for their teams, following their return:

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#5 Aaron Ramsey

Ramsey suffered a horrible leg break

When Arsenal battled Manchester United for the signing of the 18-year-old Aaron Ramsey in 2008, he was one of the hottest young prospects in British football and after he signed for the Gunners, he showed his talent straightaway by delivering an assist on his Premier League debut in September that year.

However, it all came crashing down in 2010 when a horror tackle from Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross brought about a double break and at the time, it looked as if Ramsey's top-level football career was going to be over at the age of 19.

Following that injury, Ramsey spent eight months on the sidelines and then was sent on loan to Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest in order to regain his fitness. He returned to Arsenal in 2010 and although it took him some time to get back to his peak, Ramsey exploded in the 2013-14 season.

He scored almost at will, ran great distances and capped it all off by scoring the winner in the FA Cup Final as Arsenal ended their infamous trophy drought. Ramsey also became an integral part of the Welsh national team and was arguably their best player as the nation went as far as the semi-final of the UEFA Euro 2016.

Last season Ramsey scored the winner against Chelsea in the FA Cup Final and started the 2017-18 season for Arsenal in fine form. He also reached a career milestone of 50 goals across all competitions for Arsenal, and has arguably hit his peak.

#4 Henrik Larsson

Henrik Larsson endured a terrifying break as well

Swedish striker Henrik Larsson was one of Europe's most prolific strikers for Scottish club Celtic and in only his second season with the club in 1998-99, he had scored 38 goals.

However, just when it seemed his career was going on a never before seen upward trajectory, Larsson suffered a potentially career-ending injury. In a UEFA Champions League game, he ended up having his leg broken into three. Very few footballers return from such an injury and get back to their best.

Larsson spent the rest of the season on the sidelines and when he returned in the 2000-01 season when he showed that his goal-scoring skills were as good as before. He scored 53 goals in that season for Celtic as the club went on to win all three domestic trophies in Scottish football.

Larsson scored as many as 171 goals for Celtic since his return from that injury and went on to become one of Europe's most sought-after strikers. He moved on to Barcelona after his stint with Celtic and even won the UEFA Champions League with them.

#3 Ruud van Nistelrooy

Ruud Van Nistelrooy became one of Europe's most prolific strikers following his injury

Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy is one of the greatest goal scorers in Manchester United history, having scored 150 goals across all competitions in 5 seasons from 2001 to 2006. The move from Dutch club PSV to Manchester United was agreed in 2000 but prior to the move, Nistelrooy ruptured his anterior cruciate ligaments in the knee and the move broke down.

It is an injury that usually has career-altering effects and over the year, many players have found it impossible to get back to their usual selves.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson was convinced that he needed him at the club and after the player spent a year in his recovery, the move finally happened in 2001. The legendary United manager's conviction proved prophetic as Nistelrooy scored 36 goals in his first season and then followed it up with a 44 goal haul in 2002-03, as United won back the league title from Arsenal.

Those were his peak years as a striker and no one thought it would be possible. By the team he finished at United, he had scored 150 goals for the club and subsequently moved on to Real Madrid.

#2 Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer of Newcastle United receives treatment

Former England, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United great Alan Shearer is the most prolific striker in the history of the English Premier League with a total of 260 goals. However, Shearer's career as a footballer could have been heavily curtailed due to injuries, not once but twice.

Following his move to Blackburn Rovers in 1992, Shearer started well but he soon suffered a terrible injury in a game against Leeds United. He tore his right anterior cruciate ligament and could only return to the fold in the following season.

However, when he returned he was better than ever and scored 34 goals for Blackburn in the 1993-94 season and in the following season, scored 37 goals in all competitions as the club won the Premier League title.

In 1996, Shearer moved to Newcastle United in a then record-breaking transfer that was worth £15 million and in his very first season he scored 28 goals for the club. However, in the next season, an injury to his ankle ligaments severely curtailed his season and he could only appear in 23 games and score 7 goals all season.

It appeared that the terrible injury would eventually end the career of one of England's best forwards. However, Shearer recovered and returned to become one of the best strikers in the league. He scored 21 goals in the next season and continued in a healthy vein of form as a striker in the following years, to end up with 379 career goals.

#1 Petr Cech

Petr Cech was completely knocked out after the collision at Reading

Petr Cech's return to football to enjoy a long and distinguished career as one of Europe's finest is one of the most courageous stories in modern football history. After moving to Chelsea in January of 2004, Cech became the first-choice keeper at the club soon after and won the league in the same season.

In the following season, Chelsea won the league once again and Cech was adjudged the world's finest goalkeeper by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. Chelsea had conceded only 22 goals in the 2005-06 season and Cech had a big part to play in it.

However, in October 2006 Cech suffered one of the most horrible injuries seen in modern football when in the early stages in a Premier League game against Reading, Cech's skull was fractured after he collided at full tilt with Reading's Stephen Hunt.

A brain injury could have actually paralysed him and the surgeons who performed the emergency surgeries later stated that it was a life-threatening injury. Cech was actually fortunate to still be alive and that is what makes his return to professional football within just three months even more remarkable.

He went on to win many more medals for Chelsea and reached his peak as a goalkeeper over the next nine years. Cech's outstanding goalkeeping was a big factor in Chelsea winning the UEFA Champions League in 2012, and he is still playing regularly with Arsenal, with whom he won the FA Cup last season.