Injuries affecting top clubs in Europe

Most European big clubs have either already dropped points or are faced with the prospect of dropping them as a result of injuries to key players so early in the season.In the first few weeks of the campaign, we have seen injuries and fitness problems involving key players in some of the top clubs and they have subsequently dropped points in their respective domestic leagues.One of the main culprits is Manchester United, who have dropped points against arch-rivals Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion.United star players, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie have been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks and possibly their fitness problems have greatly affected the performance of David Moyes’s team that has made the worst start since the early 1920s.RVP’s groin injury means he is not 100 % fit to play regularly yet he has a lot of responsibilities. Stress or psychological pressure is one of the factors that inflict injuries to players even without physical assault or damage.Another noticeable absentee is Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, though the Gunners have been able to win games and top the Premier League after seven rounds of matches his absence.His absence has been mimicked by the great form of new signing Mesut Ozil but the English experience in the attacking sense could be greatly missed in the long run if he doesn’t make a quick recovery.Arsene Wenger is counting on the services of Ozil and Jack Wilshire to create goals for Olivier Giroud, who has been in imperious form.With Santi Cazorla also out injured, any injury to Arsenal’s top stars will dampen their hopes of winning a major silverware this season, the first since winning the FA Cup in 2005.The Arsenal squad lacks depth in strength and the Gunners will be lucky to go through the congested fixture festival without more injuries, especially with the usually busy December coming up.They managed to progress to the next round of the League Cup after a penalty shoot-out a few weeks ago against a middle table team West Brom but next they face potential champions and last season’s Europa League winners, Chelsea.It’s hard to see Wenger’s youngsters fielded against West Brom able to compete with Chelsea in the next round. Arsenal will have to sacrifice their top dogs or bow out of the cup.In the Champions League, the Gunners are drawn in ‘group of death’ along with Marseille, Napoli and Borussia Dortmund. They will likely face stiff competition from Dortmund and Napoli to qualify for the knock-out phase.In Spain, Real Madrid’s new world record transfer signing Gareth Bale is struggling with injury. The Welshman has been forced to miss the last couple of games and coach Carlo Anceloti is without his best midfield player, Xabi Alonso for a considerable period.In recent weeks, Real Madrid has registered narrow margin wins against lower clubs in the Spanish La Liga, thanks mainly to their best player, Cristiano Ronaldo.Lionel Messi has been injured for the last two weeks or so and Barcelona are lucky to have the international break, at least for now.