Your Top 3 Players Ruined By Injuries From the Last Decade

Basically, I would like you guys to give me your personal top 3 of players who, if it weren't for their recurring injuries (or maybe one career-ending injury), would've definitely become established world beaters.

A couple pointers:

1. You can't pick players who had already won the Ballon d'Or or become established superstars prior to getting their injuries (so players like R9 and Kaka for example can't make the list). Well, those two can't make it anyway since we're just picking from the last decade, but you get what I'm trying to say.

2. It has to be from the last decade to thin out the list and make it a little bit more difficult.

I'm interested in players who were, in your opinion, so good and were on their way to becoming elite but got their development halted or completely ruined by a nasty injury(ies).

Before giving you the floor, here's mine:

1. Marco Reus.
2. Samuel Umtiti.
3. Jesé.

Fernando Torres

Dembele
Umtiti
Coman

I have a different theory on Reus.

Which is, IMO his injuries didn't ruin him, but did protect his reputation as world class and shielded him from being exposed as the relative fraud he is, which we have been able to see more clearly in the last couple of years when he played rather injury free, important BVB games, World Cup 2018..

Wilshere yes, Dembélé sadly looks like it

Weigl comes to mind too

if Jesé is considered, who really only ever shone as a sub, so surely should be Weigl who played a much more consistent and stable top level for a whole season before his ankle break

Imagine making fun of a world class player proven on the greatest stage like Marco Reus while protecting a scrub like dumbele

Please Hansy, show some dignity

sturridge owen torres agger.

If only Robben didn't get injured all the time at Madrid.....

So strange not read Pato, but he must be on list.

Torres, Pato, Sturridge.

I think Dembele has to be on this list.

I think Sturridge also has to be there, given how deadly he was for Liverpool.

I think Pato has to be third.

All three looked amazing before injuries and two have fallen so far. It's a matter of time for Dembele unless something changes.

Pato
Ganso
El Shaarawy

M99 wrote:Pato
Ganso
El Shaarawy

Never rated El Shaarawy that highly. Feel like he hit his level at Roma and then gave up and went to the CSL.

pato is really the only one that comes to mind, considering he's still relatively young and yet its felt he has been retired for like 10 plus years. but with pato, a large chunk of his problems came down to his lifestyle as well. he just didn't seem as dedicated, which is why even when he was fit, no team was clamoring to get him.

i dont know that injuries ruined jese. yes he was doing well and he got injured from a bad tackle and that halted his progress. but upon return, it seems he just hasn't won the confidence of any of his coaches to force them to play him and his commitment to the sport has also been questioned. its not like he keeps getting injured and thus sidelined. its more of coaches don't trust him i think

my list is dembele, bale and i'd say maybe reus. don't think we got to see the best of reus

Pato, Bale, Jese Rodriguez,

Bale's a good shout.

Could be Ronaldo levels, but is instead unwanted.

Fernando Torres. The Chelsea move was the nail in the coffin to his confidence given he was recovering poorly from his ankle injuries and it was there to see in his final days at Liverpool.


El Shaarawy is correct as before the specific ankle and heel injury that literally cracked all over his right-foot, he was a very different and dauntless player. Ever since then whilst having a respectable career he played almost protecting that forever fragile foot and it limited him in many ways. Was most definitely worth the hype. Both him and Torres had to compensate the same way for those fractures. Cristiano has done it for years with his ankle by being careful in his free-kicks.

Alexandre Pato. We all know this story.


Honorable mention to Jack Wilshere.


Dishonourable mention to Theo Walcott who literally was injured combing his hair.

Honorable mention to Giuseppe Rossi. Guy was on fire with Villarreal, scored 30+ goals, carried them to CL places, linked with Barcelona and then he tore his ACL. Recovered and reinjured his ACL in training missing almost two whole seasons of football. Went to Fiorentina and was top scorer of Serie A and then got injured again, missing the rest of the season. Start of next season, another injury kept him out for the whole season.

Obligatory posting of Pato's 24 second goal vs Barca just running through the team

He has to be the winner of this. He had the talent (and the performances to look to fulfill it) to be the best striker.

It's sad that his routine became so predictable: return from injury, run through 4 players to score a goal, get injured again.

Rossi possibly is an even greater mention given how good he was for country and club.

He has been injured so many times that I myself have turned against him in frustration for being injured in such a frequent manner and the media hype that usually ensues when he joins some new mid-table club.


Last I hear he is in Real Salt Lake and its followed by the usual cringe group of Americans who hold it against him for joining Italia over USMT (LOL) but I hope he will find some success there to the end of his career, even if it is MLS.

I agree with @Kick about El Sharaawy tbh

But yeah we had forgotten Giuseppe Rossi.
I'm chaning my list : Torres, Pato, Giuseppe Rossi

My personal favorite Pato goal

I really cant believe this was almost 9 years ago, remember it like yesterday

Oh how we've fallen

Rossi could have been big for Italy.

I remember Juve trying to sign him from Villarreal the summer before his injury and failing because we couldn't afford 30m players The same times we failed with Aguero and Alexis.