Football is going through a period in which there are more and more injuries. Or at least the feeling that the footballer is ‘broken’ more than ever. Every week we see a serious injury. A cruciate ligament… but physical problems do not only affect field players. The fact is that not even the goalkeepers escape anymore. We are in a time in which incidents with goalkeepers have increased considerably. They are not ‘untouchable’ despite the fact that there are studies that detail that goalkeepers suffer injuries five times less than an outfield player… But from one year to today there have been numerous problems, and several serious ones, regarding goalkeeping. The last to fall were Courtois, with a muscle injury, and Nyland, Sevilla goalkeeper, with a lateral knee ligament condition.
Injuries in football have been the order of the day. Always. Few have escaped suffering some, especially with the intense calendar presented by said organization, which includes more and more competitions and more matches. Something that is being denounced by footballers such as, for example, the recent Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri. Last month he spoke not only about physical exhaustion, but also about mental health. “Someone,” he said, “has to do something.” He decided to do it himself. He cited the word “strike.” Just a few days after these demonstrations he tore the cruciate ligament in his knee. More than six months out.
Now the ones who don’t escape are the goalkeepers. In the last year there have been numerous incidents. Something unusual that has also crossed the limits and striking cases have occurred. The high competition in which everything influences – the physical demand with the emotional demand – is also reaching levels of exhaustion for the goalkeepers.
One of the most striking is that of Thibaut Courtois. A little over a year ago he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in training. It was August 2023. And a long process began. Now last March when he was about to reappear, he tore his meniscus and had to undergo surgery again. He arrived just in time for the end of the exercise. This campaign the problems have reappeared. In this case, a muscle injury that will keep him without playing for three weeks. Another sensitive loss for Real Madrid.
There are more cases. The Espanyol-Sevilla match on the last day left the Norwegian Nyland in the ‘dry dock’. An injury to the knee ligaments. Out of combat. Not to mention what happened a month ago with Ter Stegen. Barcelona’s German goalkeeper destroyed his knee in Villarreal. Ligaments, menisci, kneecap out of place…
Injuries to goalkeepers in Primera. BRAND INFOGRAPHY
But there is more. The case of Unai Simón, Athletic goalkeeper. After the Euro he underwent surgery on his hand, which still leaves him sidelined. It’s been more than three months now. In the summer, Agirrezabala, the substitute, also fell, suffering a serious injury to his lower back during training. It caused three fractures in the transverse processes of the L2, L3 and L4 vertebrae. But Athletic’s thing with the goalkeepers is a curious case. Alex Padilla suffered a twist in his right knee during training with the Mexican U-23 National Team during the last FIFA break with an estimated absence of two to three weeks at least.
In the final stretch of last season Jaume Doménech (Valencia) suffered a muscle injury for which he had to undergo surgery in May and has remained inactive for more than five months.
Or Cillessen (Las Palmas) who had to stop for two weeks as a result of a muscle injury. In Girona the goalkeeper problem is also latent. Meanwhile, Pau López suffers from bone edema in his right hand and will be away from the playing fields for two to four weeks.
Europe: the double injury in Portugal, Alisson Becker, Ederson’s eye…
In Europe there have been some very striking cases with goalkeepers. The most egregious is the one that occurred in the Portuguese league. In the Boavista. He saw on September 10 how the two goalkeepers were injured from the same thing and on the same day. An accident in training on Tuesday the 10th put the club in a difficult position. During preparation, João Gonçalves and Luis Pires, the team’s only two goalkeepers, suffered an injury. Both Gonçalves, 23, and his substitute Pires, 19, tore their anterior cruciate ligaments. This forced the goalkeepers to undergo surgery.
Portuguese goalkeepers injured. BRAND INFOGRAPHIC
In the Premier the most recent is Alisson Becker, Liverpool goalkeeper. Three weeks ago I asked for the change. Serious muscle problems. An injury to the back of the thigh that was going to keep him out for just under two months. A hard blow for the leader of the Premier. In fact, in a recent study on its evolution, it did not receive good news. The injury increases recovery times. There’s already talk of December…
Goalkeeper injured in Premier. BRAND INFOGRAPHIC
But there is more. Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu tore his Achilles tendon last April and will not play again until January. Ederson, Manchester City’s goal, suffered a fracture in his eye socket and not only missed the outcome of the Premier League, but was also left out of the Brazilian team’s squad for the Copa América. That was in May.
In Italy, Milan goalkeeper Marco Sportiello suffered an accident to his left hand at the hotel last August, which caused a complete injury to the extensor tendon of the second finger for which he underwent surgery. Napoli goalkeeper Alez Meret suffered a torn adductor muscle in mid-September and was not expected back until mid-October.
Goalkeepers injured in Serie A. BRAND INFOGRAPHY
In summer, Alessio Cragno (Monza) underwent surgery to stabilize his right shoulder. Its reappearance is scheduled for mid-November. Or one of the last. Gollini, Genoa’s goal, fell ten days ago. He underwent surgery for “the removal of a fatty neoformation in the right peritrochanteric region (a hip cyst) that, after trauma related to its function, caused inflammation and pain.”
In France, the Rennes goalkeeper, the Turkish Dogan Alemdar, suffered a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in June. He is not expected until the beginning of next year. Alaa Bellaarouch, Strasbourg’s Moroccan goalkeeper, suffered pubalgia that made him miss the Paris Games, and is still out. At least until November.
Goalkeepers injured in France. BRAND INFOGRAPHIC
In Germany, Borussia Moënchedgladabch goalkeeper Jan Olschowsky broke his cruciate towards the end of last season. He won’t be back for another month. And the legendary Kevin Trapp, from Eintracht, has also fallen this last month. A muscle injury from which he is still recovering and has some time left. Sant Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll broke his jaw and is not expected until December. Yannic Stein’s (Union Berlin) knee injury in August left him out of action and he is not expected until December.
