Inventory of the 9 most injured players in Premier League history (ranking)

9 players with the most injured records in Premier League history (ranking)

1. Football is a physical sport and injuries are common, which frustrates players and prevents them from performing at their best.
2. Several players in the Premier League, such as Andy Carroll, Ledley King and Vincent Campani, have had their careers severely affected by injuries.
3. These players have been battling all sorts of long-term setbacks – preventing them from reaching their full potential and continuing to play in the top flight.

Football is one of the most physically touched sports in the world, which means that injuries are part of the sport. For players at the pinnacle of the sport, nothing is more frustrating than being unable to play due to ongoing illness.

From the title-winning captain to the world-beating prodigy, there are several players in England's top flight who have been plagued by injuries and have spent much of their careers on the treatment table.

In Premier League history, their time in the top flight has been severely disrupted by injuries.

9 Andy Carroll

After making an impression at the junior club as a youngster, Andy Carroll moved to Liverpool in January 2011 for a then-British record £35m, but the striker was unable to regain his best form at Merseyside due to a spate of injury issues.

After 18 months at the Reds, Carroll was deemed redundant as he went to West Ham United, where he quickly became a regular on the treatment table.

In the club's seven seasons, the former England Internacional will make just two Premier League appearances over 20 and injuries continue to prevent the striker from reaching his full potential.

The 34-year-old striker played 30 championship games for the national team towards the end of his career reading last season – the most he managed in a single league season since 2011/12.

8 Ledley King

Despite having appeared more than 300 times during Tottenham's 13 years at the club, Ledley King has struggled with chronic knee problems throughout his career.

The lack of cartilage means the highly regarded defender often has to do tailor-made training sessions on the training ground, giving him the best chance of staying fit between matches.

Thierry Henry was the toughest rival he faced in the 90s of the 20th century, and unfortunately Martin Luther King Jr.'s growing popularity as one of the top centre-backs of his generation was hampered by his relentless struggle with injuries.

7 Vincent Campani

The former Belgium international began his career at Anderlecht and moved to Hamburg in 2006 as a highly sought-after 20-year-old.

However, his debut game in Germany was affected by a serious Achilles tendon injury, which left Kompany with just six starts for the entire season.

After moving to Manchester City in 2008, Kompany became club captain and a few years later he became one of the best centre-backs in the world.

Despite his world-class performances in both sports, the Premier League and the Champions League are never far from the surface for the city's legends.

These injury issues became more frequent in the second half of his career at Etihad, with a series of recurring muscle strains leaving him out for a long time between 2015 and 2019.

6 Daniel Sturridge

Amassing more than £200 in the Premier League and now in cities like Manchester City, Chelsea at Liverpool and Daniel Sturridge enjoying a fantastic career in England's top flight.

However, it would have been better if the striker's time at Liverpool had not been spoiled by a couple of minor injuries.

After scoring 21 goals in 29 league games in 2013/14 (VIA diverting the market), Sturridge never managed to get his best form back as the Reds passed by the title.

The former England international won't record more than 20 Premier League appearances in the Premier League since then, with injuries costing his failing body.

Owen Hargreaves

During his time with the club, he won four Bundesliga titles and a Champions League trophy with Bayern Munich Owen Hargreaves' signature Manchester United 2007.

The Canadian-born England international came to the Premier League to make a name for himself, but injuries quickly hampered his development at Old Trafford.

In a sufficiently consistent debut season, he made 34 Premier League and Champions League appearances in all competitions, however, his career quickly went downhill after discovering he had patellar tendinitis in 2008.

Hargreaves played just four games over the next three seasons before joining arch-rivals Manchester City in 2011, making another league appearance before retiring.

4 Abu Diabie

The formidable midfielder was compared to Patrick Vieira early in his career after Arsenal moved to north London in January 2006.

Despite suffering a serious ankle fracture in May of that year, Diaby's reputation continued to grow as many predicted the Frenchman would be a key figure for Arsenal in the coming years after an impressive match in 2008/09 and 2009/10.

Unfortunately for Diaby, this never materialized, with plenty of long-term injury issues limiting the midfielder's appearance in the next five seasons of the Premier League at just 32.

The club eventually released the former France international in 2015, but Diaby made just six appearances in his hometown of Marseille before retiring in 2019 at the age of 32.

3 Jacket Rodwell

A product of Everton's youth system, Jack Rodewell got off to a successful start to his career, making more than 100 first-team appearances for the Toffees at the age of 21.

That saw the midfielder move for £12 million to Manchester City, where he played just 25 games in two seasons and was plagued by tendon problems.

Many fans had expected Rodewell to perform well at the Etihad and subsequently represent England at the 2014 World Cup, but those wishes quickly faded given his injury plaguing.

The former England international did little to rekindle his faltering career before Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United interrupted the tournament due to injury, with Rodwell moving to the Australian A-League in 2021.

2 Daren Anderton

Despite earning more than £300 during his Premier League time in the Premier League, Daren Anderton played for Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City as a player remembered for his constant battle with injuries.

The winger, who made 30 appearances for England between 1994 and 2001, has endured a variety of problems throughout his career, being given the notoriety of the 'sick number'.

Anderton himself wasn't happy with the nickname and despite averaging more than 24 appearances per season in 2000, he couldn't shake off the injury-prone label of the Premier League.

1 Jack Wilshire

Occupying the top spot was Jack Wilshire, one of the most technically gifted British players of his generation, who unfortunately saw his career derailed by injury.

The former Arsenal midfielder made his mark on the world stage in 2011, playing in the Champions League at just 19 years old against star-studded Barcelona.

However, Wilshere did not reach his true potential from that breakthrough season, with a serious ankle injury that caused him to miss the entire 2011/12 season.

Persistent knee and ankle problems continue to hamper Wilshere's development as the midfielder underwent several surgeries that further weakened his fitness.

Wilshere failed to make more than 25 league appearances in Arsenal's final six seasons after suffering injuries at Bournemouth, West Ham United and Danish side AFG, with the former prodigy retiring in 2022 at just 30.