Unprecedented injury crisis adds to Premier League drama

The first 15 rounds of fixtures in the 2023-24 Premier League have yielded a bumper crop of entertainment. We've witnessed the rise and fall of Tottenham, the rise and rise of Aston Villa, and the (points-deduction-assisted) fall and rise of Everton. 

Manchester City are on a four-game winless streak, Erik ten Hag is clinging on at Manchester United, Declan Rice is great, VAR isn't, Chelsea are delightfully chaotic, and Sheffield United's bold strategy of selling their two best players after winning promotion hasn't worked out well.

Underpinning all this drama is an unprecedented Premier League-wide injury crisis. Sympathy for elite-level footballers does not come easily to some people – 'I wouldn't mind a ruptured Achilles tendon, a torn ACL and a broken collarbone if I was on 120 grand a week. Nice work if you can get it.'

But even the coldest of hearts must thaw at the sight of a downcast Eddie Howe detailing the timeframe for Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope's recovery from shoulder surgery.

By November's international break the Magpies had already suffered 14 injuries, making them the joint-most wounded team in the division alongside Manchester United. Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and bottom club Sheffield United had 13 injuries after their first 12 fixtures and, according to data from Premier Injuries, the average was 9.8 injuries per club.

Naturally, I wouldn't wish a training-ground knock or a tight hamstring on my worst enemy. However, when life gives you fractured metatarsals, make lemonade, as the old saying goes, so let's focus on the positives.

There can be a metronomic, robotic feel to top-level football when everyone is fit, nobody's forced to play out of position, workloads are carefully planned, and managers know that their tactical ideas will be carried out with efficacious precision.

When a dozen senior players are sidelined, though, it tests a manager's ability to adapt those plans, as well as challenging the physical and mental resilience of the squad-members who are still standing.

It's fascinating to see how teams respond to adversity. We're used to watching football clubs with deep squads, often built on deep oil wells, so there is a nostalgic element to a proper 'down to the bare bones' injury crisis.

Howe, for example, did not make a substitution in Newcastle's Champions League draw away to Paris St-Germain and, four days later, he named the same starting 11 in a home win over Manchester United.

Newcastle's bench in Paris comprised three goalkeepers, four teenagers and one Paul Dummett while youngsters Lewis Miley and Tino Livramento played every minute of those two games.

The 17-year-old Miley was up against the Red Devils' midfield starlet Kobbie Mainoo at St James' Park and packed treatment rooms offer unexpected opportunities for young players and those, like Tottenham's Giovani Lo Celso, who had slipped down the pecking order.

Australian cricketer Marnus Labuschagne sets the standard when it comes to grabbing such opportunities. During the 2019 Ashes, Labuschagne came into the Lord's Test as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith and helped his side stave off defeat with a gritty fourth-innings fifty. A couple of years later, he was top of the ICC's Test batting rankings.

This year Labuschagne made another vital contribution as a concussion sub in September's first ODI in South Africa. That performance earned him a place in Australia's World Cup squad and he finished the tournament with an unbeaten 58 as the Aussies upset home favourites India in last month's final.

While Miley and Mainoo will be hoping to follow Marnus's example in 2024, let's hope the legions of Premier League injury absentees have a happy, healthy new year.

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