16 Aug 2011

23 months of injury time: Is Fabio Aurelio the most injured player in LFC's history?

In what must be the most predictable news of this season (or indeed any of the last five seasons), Fabio Aurelio is injured *again*, which means the Brazilian has now spent over 50% of his Liverpool career on the treatment table.

Let's take a look at the facts:

Oct 2006 - Injured: Out for 1 month
Jan 2007 - Injured: Out for 6 weeks
Apr 2007 - Injured: Achilles tendon. Out for 5 months

Apr 2008 - Injured: Adductor muscle - Out for 4 months
Nov 2008 - Injured: Out for 5 weeks

Jul 2009 - Injured: Playing football with kids - Out for 2 months
Oct 2009 - Injured: out for 4 weeks

Feb 2010 - Injured: out for 5 months

March 2011 - Injured: Hamstring. Out for 5 weeks
April 2011 - Injured: Hamstring. Out for 5 weeks
August 2011 - – Injured: Achilles. Out for ?

That is 23 months of injury time in 5 seasons , which equates to 51% of Aurelio's time time spent on the sidelines. It really is quite astonishing, and must surely make him the most injured Liverpool player of all time...?

It's a travesty that Aurelio has been allowed to stay at the club so long despite his injury history, which, it should be noted, was well established *before* Rafa Benitez signed him from Valencia.

At the end of the 2009-10 season, Aurelio did the decent thing and followed Benitez out of the door and off the payroll. Problem solved! Or so we thought. [Micheal Corelone] Just when we thought he was out, Roy Hodgson pulled him back in! [/Michael Corleone]. Hodgson had one of the great transfer ideas of all time: Re-sign a player who'd spent 18 months of the previous 4 seasons on the injured list. Clearly a decision based on inalienable logic and the common sense that comes with 30 years of experience (NOT).

It was an utterly negligent decision if you ask me, and one that would probably never be sanctioned under the new regime.

This is nothing personal - Aurelio is clearly a nice guy who has been very unlucky. However, there is no room for sentiment, and when injuries start impacting the team, it's time for a change of approach.

Buying injured players has proven to be a curse for Liverpool over the years. The simple solution is surely NOT TO RISK IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, and I'm hopeful LFC's new transfer strategy includes clauses similar to the following:

1. The club will not buy *any* player with a significant injury history.

2. The club will only buy players that are injury-free for two years prior to purchase.

With any luck, the days of wasting transfer fees/wages/signing on-fees on perpetually injured players are over.

Jaimie Kanwar



35 comments:

  1. Hence the cancellation of the Marveaux deal.

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  2. He is the most injured player in he whole EPL history, not just liverpool

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  3. How long was Kewell out for ???

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  4. And that whopper Woy Hodgson brought him back after hed been released.

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  5. No injuries for 2 years? Don't be silly.

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  6. No way Jaimie you're back! I thought you were done with writing about Liverpool. Still, I'm amazed that you've actually critised Hodgson!

    Feel sorry for him, he's a great player but his injury record is abysmal. However, now we have Enrique and Robinson, Aurelio can be 3rd choice no big deal, just hope he will be fit when needed.

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  7. Fair enough, you can't really argue with his injury record, but let's remember that when roy did bring him back, it was at a time where we had no money. I can't help but feel that Aurelio isn't the biggest problem player. I'd rather have Aurelio on the books, only able to contribute 15 games a season, than I would have Deggen, Poulsen, Cole or El Zhar contributing absolutely nothing. 

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  8. I'm not sure if he's on one, but pay-as-you-play contracts are the way to go with players like this.

    I do agree with you though, as good as he is when fit, he shouldnt be at the club. Enrique looks a great signing although he will surely have tougher tests.

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  9. At the time I thought resigning fabio was a pretty good move by Roy, considering he had just bought Paul Konchesky.. You have to remember we had dumb and dumbass for owners, we didn't have the money we have now! But I'll never understand how we signed him on a two year deal (or longer)?? Fabio is a great player when fit but he's not worth a shite to us on the treatment table..

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  10. Good point! wonder how he got through the toon medical..they must be less stringent then we are. Glad we avoided that liability though.

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  11. Agreed, talented player but terrible injury record. However I don't think FSG will want to carry on paying 30 or 40k a week for a third choice player who is unlikely to feature more than a handful of times. Plus Glen Jo can be a LB option too. I would like to keep him at the club, but only on a play as you play contract.

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  12. <span>Agreed, talented player but terrible injury record. However I don't think FSG will want to carry on paying 30 or 40k a week for a third choice player who is unlikely to feature more than a handful of times. Plus Glen Jo can be a LB option too. I would like to keep him at the club, but only on a pay as you play contract.<span>


    </span></span>

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  13. I agree! Unfortunately i think he is on the last year of a two year contract.

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  14. Aquilani, out for 6 months then did nothing then was loaned out for a season and now no one wants him. £18m wasted.  Henderson bought when a CH is required. £16m wasted. Aurelio looks cheap in comparison.

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  15. I'm thinking CH is  Centre-Half

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  16. Kieron Dyer is far worse but he is 1 of the most injured, and we have Agger who is another prone to injuries.

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  17. Ahhh, thanks Kracken.

    I always write CB.
    CH - now that's old skool! :-D

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  18. Don't forget Jamie Redknapp too. Captain benchwarmer.

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  19. I just thought of another one Smicer (legend!)

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  20. But at least Smicer did something when it mattered, a goal for the comeback and a pen for the win, CL final 2005

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  21. Yes, too many injuries, could have been a great attacking left back had he stayed fit, but never progressed as he might have because of too many injuries. He could have been every bit as good as players like Evra had he stayed fit for any amount of time.

    I fear Agger is moving into the same territory with his injuries and we probably need to buy two centre backs now, as Carragher is only good for 20 odd games a year, I reckon, and Kyrgiakos probably should not play outside the cup games and against relegation fodder. Skrtel should be 4th choice and Agger is injury prone, but would be first choice, so I reckon we need two centre backs and we move Kyrgiakos out with our thanks. Aurelio cannot be moved out as no one would ever buy him. While we are out of Europe, this should be the season when we turn our youngsters into reserve players, Coady, Robinson, Flanagan, Wisdom, Sterling, Morgan. There's Suso, Pacheco and others but some look to be close to being moved on, maybe on loan initially, even the likes of Wilson and Shelvey.

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  22. Steven Gerrard is getting quite a good injury record himself. Wonder how long it will be before he becomes non essential simply because we cannot rely on him being fit? If he gets another long term injury this year, and the team are doing well, is it worth reverting to him as a key player when his best years are behind him and his fitness is becoming less reliable?

    We've seen what has happened to Torres since he started getting injured and he is younger than Gerrard, could his best years already be behind him? Maybe he will tend to sit more and play the defensive midfielder role that best suits his talents.

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  23. I'd actually support his presence if he was on pay-as-you-play because of his popularity in the dressing room versus the inherent lack of cost in that arrangement as it requires that he play.

    It has proven a bit of a nightmare deal but I must say, I don't feel inclined to have a go at Hodge for it. God knows how Aurelio passed a medical but at the time I assumed that he must be somewhat improved to even be able to undertake one and was quite happy since Aurelio is a very good player when fit. The reason I don't think Hodge made too bad a decision with him was he was working under the dying days of that rotten regime and wasn't exactly able to go out and cherry pick for left-back. Not that that excuses Konchesky.

    I do think this kind of deal is something of the past now we have some conscientious owners.

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  24. Anyone heard of Owen Hargreaves? I think he played less than 90mins in his long career in utd medical room.
    :-P

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  25. He got injured playing for us, and he has a contract with us. Liverpool can buy him out any time they want. Get over it and stop whining.

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  26. Let's not forget Ledley King, Owen Hargreaves, Michael Essien, Robin Van Persie, Michael Owen, Arjen Robben and our very own Phillip Degen, Harry Kewell and Joe Cole! All of them make Alberto Aquilani look like Dirk Kuyt!

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  27. thanks to Jaimie for compiling the numbers, issue as trivial as fitness actually costed the club a lot over these years and there is a valid discussion on this topic. I have quite a few disagreement with Jaimie but I walk away if I have nothing to contribute. You can walk away or stop whining

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  28. I have always liked that idea for injury prone players but not for defenders. I'm pretty sure Aurelio once got injured after getting on for another injured player and we had 4 CB across the last bank in that game. 

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  29. Gerrard has put in so much over many many years and I'm surprised this long term injury didn't happen earlier. Age is really catching up, sigh...

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  30. first thing that came across my mind

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  31. Fabio Aurelio just got an knee injury one more time. 6 months out this time!

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