Injuries in the Premier League – a weekly in-depth review

Posted on by Tony Attwood

 

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Untold Injury Index – Gameweek 25

By Dale Higginbottom

Back again for another round-up of the crocked and almost crocked and in the last league game we made the trip all the way up to Wearside to play the team on top of the form table. Sunderland away has always been a tricky fixture and wins don’t come that frequently for Arsenal so the three points are very welcome. On the injury front, things have been looking much better of late but let’s look in more detail at that.

A = Ankle K = Knee
B = Back L = Achilles
C = Calf M = Muscle
D = Dead Leg N = Hip
E = Hamstring R = Rib
F = Fatigue/Lack of Fitness S = Shoulder
G = Groin T = Thigh
H = Head Injury/Concussion U = Unknown
I = Illness Y = Hand
J = Foot Z = Broken Leg

 

Sunderland Vs Arsenal (1-2)

Injuries Sunderland (7 + 0S) Arsenal (4 + 0S)
Goalkeeper Gordon (K) N/A
Defence Bramble (C), Angeleri (K), Brown (G), Kilgallon (A) Jenkinson (B,15), Santos (A,11)
Midfield Cattermole (E), Vaughan (A) Wilshere (A,25), Diaby (M,23)
Attack N/A N/A
Additional issues Sessegnon was a doubt but started and played the whole game. Gibbs was back in the squad after a long spell out but did not feature. Mertesacker picked up an ankle injury and was replaced after 72 minutes.
Suspended N/A N/A

 

Man Utd Vs Liverpool (2-1)

Injuries Man Utd (9 + 0S) Liverpool (2 + 0S)
Goalkeeper Lindegaard (A,3) N/A
Defence Vidic (K,18), Jones (A,5), De Laet (C,3), Smalling (U,10) Robinson (A,17)
Midfield Fletcher (I,13), Anderson (U,13), Nani (A,3) Lucas (K,12)
Attack Owen (T,19) N/A
Additional issues Cleverley was back in the squad but did not feature. Enrique was back in the squad and played the whole game.
Suspended N/A N/A

Tottenham Vs Newcastle (5-0)

Injuries Tottenham (5 + 0S) Newcastle (5 + 1S)
Goalkeeper N/A N/A
Defence Gallas (C,14), Kaboul (K,1) S Taylor (L), R Taylor (A)
Midfield Huddlestone (A,22), Van der Vaart (C,4), Sandro (C,9) Marveaux (G)
ttack N/A Sm. Ameobi (K), Best (K)
Additional issues Lennon and Defoe returned to the squad and both came on as 67th minute substitutes. N/A
Suspended N/A Cabaye

Everton Vs Chelsea (2-0)

Injuries Everton (4 + 0S) Chelsea (2 + 0S)
Goalkeeper N/A N/A
Defence Coleman (T), Jagielka (K) Terry (K,3)
Midfield Rodwell (E), Osman (K) Ramires (K,5)
Attack N/A N/A
Additional issues Cahill was a doubt but played the whole game. Mikel and Lampard were both doubts but both were in the squad. Lampard played the whole game, Mikel did not feature.
Suspended N/A N/A

Aston Villa Vs Man City (0-1)

Injuries Aston Villa (4 + 0S) Man City (0 + 1S)
Goalkeeper N/A N/A
Defence Lichaj (N), Herd (A), Clark (K) N/A
Midfield N/A N/A
Attack Agbonlahor (E) N/A
Additional issues Dunne was replaced late-on after picking up an injury. Ireland, Albrighton and Collins were all doubts but all featured in the game. Kompany and Nasri were both doubts for the game but Kompany played the whole game and Nasri was a late substitute.
Suspended N/A Balotelli

Again we see United sit top of the injury league and it’s a position I’m sure we’re all thankful to be (al the least temporarily) well clear of. The Totts have passed us for this week and we lie in third, there’s no change in the bottom three.

At Sunderland it was great to come back from a goal down and the grab the late winner in the manner we did and that sort of spirit will be essential in the final 13 games of the league campaign. Given our injury troubles of recent weeks it was particularly tough to concede a goal on the back of another injury but all the credit to the players to getting back into it.

Around the grounds, United continue to get vital wins despite struggling through a tough list of injuries, Liverpool and Chelsea continue to be very inconsistent despite their lack of injuries, City continue to be boring by having no injuries and the Totts continue winning (well, that is until they come to the Emirates next Sunday – fingers crossed).

Injuries seem to be looking pretty good at the moment for Arsenal. With all due respect to Santos, Jenkinson and Diaby, we’re really only missing young Jack at the moment as we have good available cover elsewhere. If we get Wilshere back in a month (as it has been reported) then it’ll be a huge boost for the rest of the season and might be decisive in our cause for a top-four finish.

This of course is all a bit relative given the new injuries in the last two games to Mertesacker and now Koscielny but even taking them into consideration, we’re in a better place now than where we were a month or two ago.

The Milan game was clearly painful and it was just one of those bad days that we’ve had this season. Given all the turmoil of the season it’s not totally unexpected but as long as the team use this defeat as a motivator we can still end the season on a positive note with a top-four finish and we’re still in with a very good shout of lifting the FA Cup in May.

Next we have a break for the FA Cup and another trip to Wearside before we invite the Totts to the Emirates. Everyone gets all their African players back this week so the next league performances could be quite different for Chelsea, City and Arsenal.

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2 Replies to “Injuries in the Premier League – a weekly in-depth review”

  1. the injury levels at Citeh and Liverpool are incredibly low and over a period of time – can we be learning something from them, as they are in very stark contrast to us?

  2. Mandy Dodd, Dale, Readers,
    As ever, an excellent question. More questions: What makes this contrast so stark? Was it this stark and disproportionate last season? And the season before? Is there anything, Dale, that you discern behind these numbers? Any educated hypothesizing? Is it purely coincidental?

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