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The Best Premier League XI Made Up Of Currently Injured Players
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The Best Premier League XI Made Up Of Currently Injured Players

14/02/25 13:01

The Best Premier League XI Made Up Of Currently Injured Players

It feels like this season injuries have been talked about more than anything else in the Premier League, and that’s fair enough, considering that there are currently 117 unavailable players, an average of six per squad. Teams such as Tottenham, Bournemouth and now Arsenal have lengthy injuries lists, while Liverpool, Fulham and Nottingham Forest have been relatively lucky. There are so many players missing at the moment, that they could make up a really solid team that could even challenge for Europe were they put together as a squad. Here is the best XI of currently injured players in the Premier League.

GK - Mark Flekken (Brentford)

For most of this XI, I have tried to only include players who aren’t even training with their team, let alone playing, due to injury, however I had to make an exception for the goalkeeper position because there aren’t really any injuries to them at the moment. The only player that has missed a recent game through injury is Mark Flekken, however he could return for their game this weekend against West Ham.

Thomas Frank explained Flekken’s absence in their recent match against Tottenham as a ‘side strain’ but given that his side were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round against Plymouth, they have had an extra week to recover him. The Dutch goalkeeper has been a solid and reliable replacement for David Raya in the two years that he has been at the club, however he has managed just nine clean sheets in 60 top flight appearances. This season he has played 23 games of Brentford’s 24 and made 105 saves, 30 more than Mats Sels in second place.

LB - Ferdi Kadioglu (Brighton)

Ferdi Kadioglu has played in a number of positions throughout his career so far, but Fabian Hurzeler has preferred him in the left side of Brighton’s defence when he has been fit. The full back joined from Fenerbahce in the summer but has played just six times in the top flight due to an injury he picked up at the beginning of November. His return has been pushed back until March at the earliest, but Brighton fans are worried that he could come back into training unfit to play until April.

It was initially thought that the injury wasn’t too severe as Hurzeler said in November that it was a small issue, but further tests revealed a toe joint capsular tear and that he would be out for some time. Kadioglu impressed in the Turkiye international team in this summer’s Euros, earning him his £25m move to Brighton. In his last match, a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, he scored Brighton’s goal, his first and so far only goal in the English top flight

CB - Micky van de Ven (Tottenham)

You would think that, given their current injury crisis, there would be plenty of Tottenham players who make this XI, however given their league position and the sheer number of injuries in the Premier League at the moment, Micky van de Ven is their only inclusion. Van de Ven, like Flekken, is actually training with the first squad, but given how long he has been out, it felt only right to include him in this XI.

The Dutch defender has played just nine times in the league this season and despite playing in their most recent Europa League match, he has missed the subsequent domestic games due to a lack of fitness. Manager Ange Postecoglou has said that it wasn’t worth risking his injury, especially as they are now missing Radu Dragusin. The 23-year-old joined back in 2023 from Wolfsburg, but has only managed 36 league appearances since then due to a whole host of injuries.

CB - Pau Torres (Aston Villa)

Pau Torres has been out injured since the beginning of January with a broken metatarsal and so far there is no indication that he is close to a return. The Spanish defender rose through the ranks at Villarreal where he made 173 appearances before joining Aston Villa in 2023 for £31m. Unai Emery made the same move just a few months prior, so the manager was a big part of Torres wanting to join Villa.

This season, before his injury, he had been a key starter in the Villa squad, playing 90 minutes in 17 of his 18 appearances. The only match that he has been in the starting XI but failed to play the full game was the one in which he picked up his injury at the end of December. Villa have kept just one clean sheet without him in the league, although that isn’t saying much as they have only kept three all season.

RB - Kenny Tete (Fulham)

There was a short period of time where I could have included either Trent Alexander-Arnold or Ben White in this XI, however the Liverpool man returned to action in midweek against Everton, and the Gunners’ fullback is now in training and could make his long awaited return this weekend. Instead I’ve gone with Fulham fullback Kenny Tete, who has been unavailable for the Cottagers for nearly two months.

He picked up a knee injury against Liverpool in December and isn’t expected back until April. The Dutch fullback joined the club from Lyon back in 2020 and has since made 112 appearances for the London based side. This season he had been a vital part of Marco Silva’s defence, as he is tall, quick and strong in the tackle. On top of that, he can provide the occasional assist, with two this campaign in 15 appearances.

CDM - Romeo Lavia (Chelsea)

Romeo Lavia is still considered to be one of the greatest midfield prospects in the Premier League, however injuries have constantly got in the way of developing him into a top player. This season he has had three separate injuries that have seen him miss a total of 13 games in the league playing just 10 times. He joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023, and managed just one league game all of last season.

He joined Manchester City at the age of 16 from Anderlecht but played just twice for the first team, both in cup competitions, before moving to Southampton in 2022. The Saints are the club he has played the most games for, despite being there for just one season. He managed 34 games in all competitions for them before joining Chelsea.

CDM - Rodri (Manchester City)

An obvious inclusion, the current Ballon d’Or holder hasn’t played a game of football since September because of an ACL injury that he picked up in the first half against Arsenal. He isn’t expected back before the end of the season, which is a big blow for the midfielder, as he was just coming off the back of a brilliant summer with Spain in which he helped them win the Euros.

The 28 year old is key to Pep Guardiola’s team and that has been obvious this season as Manchester City have collapsed without him. They currently sit fifth, just one point ahead of Bournemouth in seventh. Rodri joined City in 2019 and has since won eight major club honours as well as the individual Ballon d’Or award and the Euros with Spain. Out of his 174 Premier League appearances, he has lost just 19 games. Without him this season, City have already lost seven.

LM - Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)

Gabriel Martinelli hasn’t missed any Premier League games due to injury this season, however he is currently out of training due to feeling a strain on his hamstring, and looks as if he might miss this weekend’s game against Leicester. The most recent update on his injury situation is that he was being assessed, but since then there has been radio silence. He hasn’t had the most prolific season, with just six Premier League goals, but he has been an important part of Arsenal’s attack, especially since the injury to Bukayo Saka.

Martinelli joined the club back in 2019 for just £6m and has since played over 200 times for the Gunners. He is still just 23 years old, and the injury isn’t the most concerning one that Arsenal have, so he should recover well in a few weeks’ time, however with every game being crucial as they try and chase down league leaders Liverpool, they’ll need as many fit players as possible.

CAM - Harvey Barnes (Newcastle)

Despite playing most of this season as a left winger, I’m putting Harvey Barnes in as a central attacking midfielder in this team as he can operate in that position, and has done on the rare occasion. Barnes has missed the last four Premier League games through a thigh injury, but Eddie Howe is confident that he should be back in full training within the next few weeks.

The Englishman joined Newcastle after his former side Leicester got relegated from the Premier League last season, but hasn’t nailed down a starting spot in the Magpies’ team as Anthony Gordon plays in his position and has been in electric form in the last few years. Despite playing just 41 times in the league for Newcastle, Barnes has 10 goals, a remarkable return when you consider that he doesn’t tend to start games.

RM - Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Another obvious inclusion in this list, the second best winger in the Premier League, Bukayo Saka hasn’t played since December, and isn’t expected back in training anytime soon. Arsenal’s starboy picked up a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace that required surgery and has since seen him sidelined as Arsenal try to keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the league.

This season, the winger has 15 goal involvements in 16 appearances, however in the four games before his injury, he was unable to increase that tally. He still has the second most assists in the league this season behind Mohamed Salah with 10, despite not playing for nearly two months. Saka is undoubtedly Arsenal’s best player, and so far he is proving a big miss, as they are now no longer in the FA Cup or Carabao Cup. Luckily for the Gunners, Saka was able to provide four goals in just five appearances in the Champions League to put them in the best position to qualify for the Round of 16.

ST - Evanilson (Bournemouth)

Kai Havertz could have made this list, but I didn’t want to have too many players from the same team to emphasise how widespread the injuries have been this season. Evanilson is Bournemouth’s record signing, having joined the club for £40m in the summer, and while his stats for a centre forward aren’t great (five goals in 19 games), he offers a lot more than what stats can show, with great hold up play and a clever ability to win fouls. Evanilson broke his metatarsal in January against Everton and has since required surgery, meaning he will be out until April at the earliest. This, combined with Enes Unal’s ACL injury mean that the Cherries have one recognised striker in Daniel Jebbison, who has played a total of six Premier League games in his career.

Evanilson joined Bournemouth from Porto in the summer, having played 154 times for the Portuguese side. Now on the south coast, he has instantly become a fan favourite with the way he holds the ball up, takes on audacious efforts and wins fouls in all areas of the pitch. He has won five penalties this season, one of which he has taken and missed, but the other four were all converted by Justin Kluivert. That means he has won the most penalties of any player in the Premier League this season, with the next most being two. He also made Premier League history in Bournemouth’s win over Wolves by becoming the first player to win three penalties in the same match.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Jake Martin

Website Editor

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