5 world-class strikers who lost their touch after injuries

It is every footballer’s worst nightmare to see their career being brought to a halt by injuries. Quite simply, it is the worst thing that could happen to someone who has worked his entire life to be the best at something to be brought down by something he is not responsible for, or rather something that he has no control over.It has happened before and though we hope it doesn’t affect anyone else’s career going forward, chances are it will surely happen again. Strikers are very important to a team. They get the goals, and need to be sharp and alert all through so that they don’t miss any opportunity to give their team an advantage.With such extreme demands on strikers, that includes speed, strength, quick reflexes, and smart thinking, it is quite difficult for them to remain effective if they are hampered by an injury. Here’s a look at some genuine world class strikers whose careers took a turn for the worse after suffering horrible injuries:

#5 Michael Owen

The world’s most boring commentator was the once the most exciting striker in the world. Between 1998 and 2004, he was Liverpool’s leading goalscorer every season, this despite his time there being sprinkled with a number of injury breaks.

Owen is one of only 7 players to have scored 15 goals or more and is also the youngest player to score 100 goals in the Premier League. He broke records as fast as he would run onto a teammate’s through ball to score at Anfield.

His feats of goalscoring and the age at which he achieved them are unrivalled and are yet to be matched in a league as physical as the Premiership.

Owen joined Real Madrid in 2004, but after a largely unsuccessful spell, returned to England with Newcastle United. This move marked the beginning of the end for him. He suffered a broken metatarsal towards the end of 2005, an injury which kept him out for the rest of the season.

He worked his way back to full fitness only to suffer a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in the first match of the World Cup against Sweden, which kept him out of action for an entire year.

He eventually returned to action, but his susceptibility to injury had eclipsed normal levels. He left Newcastle for Manchester United on a free, but was restricted to appearances from the bench. His career drew to a finish in an unspectacular manner as he finished his playing days as part of a glamourless Stoke team.

#4 Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Van Nistelrooy almost missed out on being signed by United after a cruciate ligament injury. He had to wait a year to prove his fitness to the club before ultimately being signed by them.

His exploits at United are well known, and his talent and ability to work opposition defenses is also well documented. Sadly though, his career ended with a whimper when he could have gone out with the loudest bang ever.

Most of his problems started at Real Madrid. He continued with his habit of scoring goals and propelled Madrid to titles till a meniscus problem was found in his knee which kept him out for the entirety of the 2008/2009 campaign.

That is the time that Madrid set about forming Galacticos 2.0 and brought in Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema. Van Nistelrooy was done for. Madrid had shiny new toys and they weren’t very interested in him.

He spent the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons at Hamburg and Malaga respectively, but found goals hard to come by. Fearing more physical breakdowns, he called time on his career at the end of the 2011-12 season after helping Malaga to a Champions League qualification berth.

#3 Luis Ronaldo

Ronaldo has to be the most frightening and spectacular striker to have ever lived. The things he achieved while still young(1 World Cup and 2 Player of the Year awards by the age of 21) could only be dreamed of, even by the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Throughout his career, Il Phenomeno, was a goal a game striker. He was fast, powerful and relentless in his approach to goal. Unfortunately for him, his weak knees couldn’t support him towards his deserved end and his career was instead cut short by recurring injury problems.

By 2000, he had suffered a second ruptured tendon in his knee and his career was considered over. He returned against all odds, but had to do so by sacrificing crucial aspects of his game. His pace was gone and he had to rely more on technique than he had ever done before.

There are many who consider Ronaldo’s form at Real to be far from the best he has produced. This, despite scoring 104 goals in 184 games. His career was then marked by a third ruptured tendon in his knee which led to AC Milan getting rid of him and ultimately cutting short his career.

#2 Radamel Falcao

It was only a little more than a year ago that Falcao was being hailed as one of the deadliest strikers in the world. His name was to only be uttered with that of a select few. The threat was real.

Fast forward a year and a few months and he finds himself propped on the Manchester United bench, sometimes not even on it, watching on as academy graduate James Wilson takes his place.

It was a French Cup game in January last year that conspired to change the trajectory of Falcao’s career. In a match hosted by Monts d’Or Azergues Foot, a semi-professional club, Falcao was hacked down by an inept tackle from Soner Ertek, an amateur who is a teacher by profession. The foul ended up snapping the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. He missed the World Cup and now he’s unable to grasp the chance to impress at the biggest club he’s ever been at.

Falcao’s injury seems to have dented his confidence. The charisma is gone. The fearlessness too. Growing insecurities with his body are making it quite tough for him psychologically. History suggests that situations such as these don’t end well. The present seems to be pointing in that direction as well as he cuts a forlorn figure in the red half of Manchester.

#1 Fernando Torres

It might be hard to believe now, but not long ago, Fernando Torres was the best striker in the world, breaking goalscoring records at a blistering rate that only the likes of Messi and Ronaldo can boast of now. Fernando Torres was the epitome of the striking prowess every player dreamed of and it was only a nasty bit of luck that ruined what could have been.

Torres, in his first season at Liverpool in 2008, scored 24 goals in 33 games. Now, in 2015, there is much cheer if he manages even one. This contrast in fortunes can be traced back to the months preceding the 2010 FIFA World Cup where he underwent two knee operations in the space of three months to correct a recurring cartilage problem.

Reports suggested that he was being rushed back for the World Cup. The papers might have been true as Torres struggled throughout the competition and failed to score in any of his seven appearances. This blip in his form stretched to the remainder of his time at Liverpool. In the subsequent period, till his departure to Chelsea was confirmed, Torres only managed nine goals, a drastic drop from his early days.

The move to Chelsea didn’t help as it only magnified the attention on him. The pressure mounted and he couldn’t thrive at the London club. In his 110 appearances for Chelsea, he managed only 20 goals, which is poor when you see that he scored 65 goals for Liverpool in only 102 appearances.

His searing pace and power have disappeared. El Nino’s injuries have ended up changing the track of his career from one that could have been legendary to one full of mockery and parody.