The Premier League Long-Term Injury XI
All eyes will be on Jurgen Klopp's Premier League debut as Liverpool visit White Hart Lane this weekend, but the German manager will be without six of his key players for the trip (per the Daily Star).
Several of those crocked Reds stars have made it into our Premier League "Injured For Ages" XI, which consists entirely of players who have and will continue to face lengthy spells on the sidelines this season.
If anything, this out-of-action XI demonstrates the prevalence of serious knee injuries in the league at the moment, with nine of the players suffering setbacks of this nature.
So, get ready to see a "who's who" in the world of anterior cruciate ligament damage over the following pages and be sure to leave a comment...
GK: Tim Krul
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Serious knee injuries appear to be an epidemic among Premier League goalkeepers.
Fraser Forster and Ben Foster are both out for the rest of the season, while the ACL injury that Tim Krul picked up while the Netherlands failed to qualify for Euro 2016 will keep him on the sidelines.
Newcastle boss Steve McClaren claims Krul's loss could cost his side "18 to 20 points" (as per talkSPORT). The presumption here, of course, is that the Magpies would have actually earned 18 to 20 points this season...
LB: Luke Shaw
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Aleksander Kolarov picked up a fairly serious niggle while on international duty, but the left-back position in this team has to go to Luke Shaw, who fractured his right leg in Eindhoven a month ago.
CB: Joe Gomez
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Joe Gomez has been something of a revelation at Liverpool this season, but sadly, the 18-year-old will not be fit for selection for Jurgen Klopp this season as he damaged his ACL during England U21 duty on Tuesday evening.
According to the Daily Mirror, Klopp has "vowed to wait" for Gomez, which makes them sound like the protagonists of a romantic drama.
CB: Tyrone Mings
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A solid contender for the heavily crocked left-back position, Bournemouth's Tyrone Mings moves to the centre of the field for our XI.
The Mings dynasty will be out of action until at least next summer after suffering an ACL injury just six minutes into his Premier League debut for the Cherries.
RB: Jon Flanagan
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The second of three Liverpool players in this XI who are nursing serious knee injuries is a man who is well-acquainted with the Melwood physio room: Jon Flanagan.
The 22-year-old full-back didn't play last season because of knee and cartilage issues, and he is currently in rehab after more surgery at the end of last season.
LM: Max Gradel
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Bournemouth's draw with Leicester in August was highly costly, as it claimed the cruciate ligaments of both Tyrone Mings and Max Gradel.
It might be Valentine's Day before the Ivorian winger is seen back on the field.
CM: Jack Wilshere
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In the centre of our formation of unfit players is Jack Wilshere, who is still at least a month away from recovering from his latest setback.
According to Sky Sports, the Gunners midfielder has missed almost 1,000 days of football through injury.
RM: Matty James
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Leicester's Matty James joined the cruciate knee ligament injury club at the end of last season after catching his studs in the turf during the Foxes' win over Southampton.
The midfielder was ruled out for nine months and isn't expected to be back at the King Power until February at the earliest.
FW: Danny Welbeck
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Danny Welbeck underwent knee surgery in September, much to the frustration of Arsenal fans who accused Arsene Wenger of conveniently concealing the striker's malady until after the transfer window had closed.
The Guardian reports that Welbz aims to be back on the field (or on the bench) in early 2016.
FW: Callum Wilson
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Bournemouth have not had much luck with ACL injuries this season.
After record signing Tyrone Mings and Max Gradel were both crocked on the same day, star striker Callum Wilson damaged his knee in September's defeat at Stoke.
Wilson, who had scored five in six games before the injury, will be out of action for at least six months.
FW: Danny Ings
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Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool squad is diminishing by the day. A matter of hours after Gomez's cruciate ligament injury was announced, the club revealed that Danny Ings will miss the rest of the season and his shot at playing at Euro 2016 after tearing his ACL in training.
Clearly, Reds fans are not happy about the situation.
