Premier League injured XI of all time

Football is a contact sport and as with all contact sports it generates a lot of injuries. Players have to be vigilant about their health and fitness to prolong their careers, but some, no matter how hard they try, can never stave off injuries. Many a player has seen his career go down the wrong road because of damage to the body.Here's a list of some of the best players to have been troubled by injuries.

#1 Craig Gordon

Keepers are not as prone to injuries as the outfield players are. They are secure in their boxes and chances of contact over the 90 minutes are minimal. However, Craig Gordon seems to be the exception.

Gordon was a highly touted keeper when he joined Sunderland in 2007, for a then record £9 million. He was the first choice keeper for Scotland and all big clubs were keeping a tab on him. But what followed next saw one of the most promising keepers in the league disappear into oblivion and reappear in the Scottish Premier League in a bid to resuscitate his career.

Gordon spent five years at Sunderland and despite being first choice only made 88 starts. His list of injuries include: chronic knee problems, tendonitis, broken arm, ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

He was released by Sunderland in the summer of 2012.

#2 Micah Richards

Richards' fall from the perch has been a depressing one. Once seen as the most gifted youngster at City, he was quickly sidetracked when a plethora of injuries struck.

His biggest undoing was his knee injury which kept him out for six months between 2012 and 2013. During that layoff, he permanently lost his place to Pablo Zabaleta, thus ending his future at City. His return was marred with niggles and he could never make a proper comeback to stake a claim for a first team spot.

The list of inconveniences that kept him out includes: hyaline cartilage, malleolar injury, strained hamstrings, knee problems and swine flu.

#3 Jonathan Woodgate

Jonathan Woodgate, early in his career, was a defender in the mould of Rio Ferdinand, he played for the same team as well - Leeds United. Woodgate's career started in 1998 at Leeds, where he played 103 games over a period 5 years. He was blighted by injuries from the start, but no one could foresee the nightmare career that was awaiting him.

Between 2003 and 2012, Woodgate has played for 5 teams, including: Newcastle, Real Madrid, Tottenham, Middlesbrough and Stoke. He couldn't manage even 50 appearances for any of the teams during that period.

He now plays for his hometown club Middlesbrough and seems to be managing his injury problems better than before.

#4 Ledley King

Tottenham Hotspurs' legend Ledley King has had a career sprinkled with as many injuries as ball clearances he made. Laterdetermined that King had no cartilage in his knee and this caused his frequent injury problems, ultimately causing him to retire from the game.

King established himself as a regular at Spurs in the early 2000's but soon found himself spending a lot of his time on the sidelines nursing one or the other injury. Most of the time it was his knee. In the latter part of his career he stopped training with the team in a bid to keep his knee fit for games. This way he managed to play one game every week, albeit in a lot of pain.

In 2012, with pain management becoming increasingly tough, he decided to call time on his career.

#5 Wes Brown

The most talented defender to play for Manchester United, according to Sir Alex Ferguson, despite his impressive array of medals never quite fulfilled his potential.

Brown featured only 232 times for United despite being in the team for 15 years. His recurring injuries, despite his talents, saw him relegated to the bench with the manager failing to trust his fitness over long periods.

His injuries, as with previous players, were all ligament and knee injuries.

#6 Abou Diaby

Diaby has been at Arsenal for 8 years. In that period, he's made 124 appearances. One hundred and twenty four.

Diaby's trouble with injuries started after being on the receiving end of a horrendous tackle by Dan Smith. It took 3 surgeries to repair the damage and over a year for him to completely recover. Doctors had warned him that the injury could be career threatening and so it seems, 8 years later he is still struggling for full fitness despite the endless recoveries and rehabilitation periods.

He is lucky to have the backing of his manager or else he'd be in a very different profession right now.

#7 Owen Hargreaves

Hargreaves is another in a long line of players plagued by knee injuries. Once seen as the most gifted young defensive midfielder on the planet, Hargreaves found it tough to stave off injuries and eventually had to quit at the age of 31.

Hargreaves first came to attention at Bayern Munich. His impressionable performances led to a move to Manchester United and despite the initial excitement, it fizzled out to be one of the most disappointing transfers in Sir Alex Ferguson's reign. He spent 4 years at United managing only 27 appearances. He was finally released at the end of his contract.

Employment was hard to come by for him after his United stint and he had to resort to making YouTube videos to prove to clubs he was fit. He managed to win the confidence of Manchester City officials and was able to secure himself a pay as you play contract.

He was release after one season, after which he retired failing to attract any more interest from clubs.

#8 Michael Essien

Essien was seen as a natural successor to Claude Makelele and he didn't disappoint with his initial performances. With his strong and efficient displays, he quickly cemented his place in Mourinho's team and established himself as a key member to all of Chelsea's immediate successes.

The fairy tale, as it seemed then, had a twist. Later in his Chelsea career he would be troubled with consistent injury troubles, keeping him out of the team for prolonged periods, causing him to lose his first team spot. Through intense rehabilitation, he attempted several comebacks, but all were in vain. He couldn't replicate the standards of past years.

His last three injuries have kept him out for a period of 184, 178 and 173 days.

#9 Robin van Persie

Of all the players who have spent a large chunk of their careers injured, Van Persie has to be the most successful among all. The Dutchman is now seen as one of the best strikers in the world, but it wasn't long ago that Arsenal fans wanted rid of him because of his constant trouble with injuries.

Van Persie spent 8 seasons at Arsenal, but only managed to stay fit for one and half seasons. The glaring deficit in the number of games he's played is easily forgotten with one glance at his scoring record, which makes it feasible for teams to persist with him.

His injury troubles seemed to be behind him after his move to United, but constant niggles and pulled muscles have begun to flare up again since the end of last season.

#10 Louis Saha

Rooney and Ferdinand have, in the past, described Saha as the best striker they've played with and but for his injury woes, he might just have gone onto become the best striker in the world.

Louis Saha is a well known figure to premier league fans and this despite him never having a proper run of games to consolidate his position in the various squads he's been a part of. Every time he hit form, he'd hit another setback with regards to his fitness.

Over his 16-year long career, he played for 8 different teams and only managed to amass more than 100 appearances for one of those clubs.

#11 Michael Owen

Fate has been most cruel to Owen. At the age of 17 he had the world at his feet and was destined for great things. But the end of his career saw him becoming a figure of derision, a shadow of the player he once was.

Owen started his career at Liverpool, becoming an instant hit with the fans because of his ferocious goal scoring capabilities. His lustrous performances helped him secure a move to Real Madrid's Galacticos, a move which should have confirmed his position in the pantheon of greats, but instead derailed his career.

Since his move from Liverpool in 2004, the highest number of appearances he has managed for a club is 71, for Newcastle. His countless injuries saw him conclude his career in the obscurity of Stoke City's bench.

The greatest hope of England was extinguished by the winds of fate.