Injuries, Injuries and More Injuries - Abou Diaby's Struggle For Fitness

   

Abou Diaby

   Everyone who plays sport knows that injuries are something that can happen at any moment. Whether it be whilst you're competing, training for your next event or simply going about your day minding your own business. Bayern Munich defender, Jerome Boateng, fell victim to a rather unlucky injury during an aeroplane flight, when a drinks trolley aggravated a knee injury that he had recently picked up. Some would say this is a terribly unlucky injury, but I would say he shouldn't have had his knee in the aisle. However, for current Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby, injuries have plagued his professional career thus far,  and have ultimately prevented him from fulfilling his footballing talent. 

    Abou Diaby is a player that has been compared on numerous occasions to the legendary ex-Gunner and fellow Frenchman, Patrick Vieira. Many have pointed out that Diaby has the potential to be the strong, dominant box-to-box midfielder that Vieira was during his time at Arsenal. 

   Abou Diaby joined Arsenal in 2006 and has made 178 appearances scoring 19 goals. He started his senior playing career at Auxerre, a club that has nurtured talented individuals such as Eric Cantona and Laurent Blanc to name just a few. Since transferring to Arsenal, Diaby has constantly been on and off the injury table. The Paris-born Frenchman managed 40 appearances in the 2010-11 season. However, ankle and calf problems have prevented Diaby from having any other injury-free campaigns. 

   In the last couple of weeks, Arsenal have confirmed that Abou Diaby will be out of action for a further eight or nine months, after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. According to The Sun it will be his 36th injury in just seven years (The Sun Online). With absolutely no chance of playing again this season, Diaby is unlikely to play again until 2014. For any footballer this time away from the game is a hard pill to swallow, especially a player of Diaby's calibre, who has been lauded time and again by the Gunners manager, Arsene Wenger. Such praise and belief from 'the boss' must surely provide a huge amount of motivation for Abou Diaby to bounce back and repay the faith that Mr. Wenger has shown in him. 

   The fact of the matter is, that some players will go through their whole professional careers without picking up one serious injury. However, at the opposite end of the spectrum there are players, like Abou Diaby, who are labelled as 'injury prone.' The reason for this is difficult to pinpoint. It could be down to the competence of a club's medical team, the injury-risk of the position they play in or just simply pot-luck. Nevertheless, for the sake of Diaby's future at Arsenal, it is of paramount importance that he is able to stay fit for two or three successive seasons. Otherwise, he might find himself plying his trade somewhere other than the Emirates Stadium.