Injuries are part and parcel of Premier League football, a frustrating sub-plot to each top-flight season.
Plans can be thrown into chaos when first-team stars are ruled out with injuries, with Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea all in the headlines this season with missing players.
However, none of that trio feature among the top five Premier League teams impacted by injuries in 2023-24, in terms of overall days missed.
Of course, all injuries are not equal and the personnel of those absent is needed for context, but these five teams had more days of absence than any others.
5. Bournemouth – 882 days
Bournemouth’s injured contingent missed a total of 882 days combined in 2023-24. Tyler Adams was among the most notable absentees for the Cherries, with the summer signing arriving injured and missing much of the campaign.
The US international underwent a second hamstring surgery in seven months in October, after a previous operation at former club Leeds in March 2023, ruling him out of action until February. Upon his return, he suffered from back issues and ended the campaign with just three league appearances.
Another of the club’s summer recruits, Max Aarons, also missed 18 games with hamstring injuries.
4. Arsenal – 898 days
Arsenal are fourth for the number of days missed by injured players. The Gunners suffered a huge setback on the opening weekend when summer signing Jurrien Timber sustained an ACL injury, with the Dutch defender not returning until the final day win over Everton.
Fabio Vieira also underwent groin surgery, while Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey suffered ongoing issues. The latter missed five months with a hamstring injury, having also been ruled out for four games with a groin complaint earlier in the campaign. The Ghana international made just nine league starts in 2023-24.
Jurrien Timber, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament in Arsenal’s first game of the Premier League season, returns to see out the end of the final one. pic.twitter.com/bN8PdzuqlG
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) May 19, 2024
3. Nottingham Forest – 1068 days
Nottingham Forest are the first team on this list to have surpassed 1000 days.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s frustrating fitness record continued as the Nigerian underwent groin surgery, before another later spell on the sidelines. Awoniyi has started just 29 league games across his two seasons at the City Ground, scoring 16 goals, with Forest hopeful his issues can end next season.
Elsewhere, Wily Boy’s experience was missing for periods of the season with the Ivorian on the treatment table, while Neco Williams and Ola Aina also missed periods.
2. Aston Villa – 1236 days
Aston Villa’s top-four finish and Champions League qualification came despite the second-worst record when it came to injuries in 2023-24.
Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia missed almost the entire season with ACL issues, and Boubacar Kamara became the third Villa player to suffer a serious knee problem in February, with the Frenchman forced to undergo surgery.
3 x ACL injuries ????
2 the week before the start of the season
Mings – out for the season
Buendia – out for the seasonKamara then injured yesterday with an ACL injury – out for 5/6 months pic.twitter.com/7WFichpXDP
— ???????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????????? (@TheVillaHome) February 12, 2024
Meanwhile, Jacob Ramsey made only eight league starts due to foot and toe problems.
1. Burnley – 1290 days
Burnley were relegated from the Premier League in 2023-24 but could things have been different had the Clarets had a full complement of options?
Jordan Beyer, Nathan Redmond and Aaron Ramsey all suffered serious knee injuries that curtailed their campaigns, while Hjalmar Ekdal’s debut season barely got going due to knee issues of his own. Manuel Benson, who scored 13 goals in all competitions last season for Burnley, featured for just 110 minutes in the Premier League as a result of injury setbacks.
Read – Our Premier League end-of-season awards for 2023/24
See more – Our Premier League Team of the Season for 2023/24
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