It seems like injuries are having an unprecedented impact on Premier League football this season, and the sight of a player limping off has become common. Hamstrings seem to be pinging left and right — and, increasingly, those hamstring injuries seem to be worse than a typical two-week strain — while knee and foot injuries have also become more frequent.

This has affected clubs’ ability to operate as intended. Some are up to double-digit centre-back combinations for the campaign, constantly adjusting to fresh ailments, while others have had position groups wiped out simultaneously. But though this seems to be the rule for so many, every rule has its exceptions. A handful of teams have dodged injuries almost entirely, and it’s perhaps no coincidence that those teams have enjoyed successful seasons — largely at the expense of the teams who have suffered.

We’ve analyzed how the Premier League title race and battle for the Champions League spots have been affected by injuries. For each club, we picked what we believe to be the manager’s strongest XI and tracked how many matchday squads those players have missed due to injury. We then assessed how the manager coped with those absences, digging into the team’s preparation, the quality of depth at their disposal and the timing of the injuries, establishing a context for how it impacted the club.

All statistics referenced are for Premier League only and clubs are listed in the order they appear in the league table.

Liverpool: 1st, 70 points from 29 games

First-choice XI

GK: Alisson Becker
DF: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson
MF: Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai
FW: Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz

Matchday squads missed combined: 16
Major injuries to note (games missed): Jota (8), Alisson (8), Konaté (6)
Players who missed 2 or fewer matchday squads: 8

Key takeaways

Liverpool have done a magnificent job of largely avoiding injuries this season. As ESPN’s Beth Lindop revealed, the club have gone to great measures to track their players’ fitness in 2024-25 — a feat worth commending, as keeping a clean bill of health feels almost impossible now. Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah — arguably the three pillars of this team — have started every Premier League game; Andrew Robertson and Luis Díaz have made every matchday squad; Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold have missed just one game because of injury.

That is a phenomenal availability record.

However, there have been issues. Goalkeeper Alisson has missed eight games, no massive surprise given his injury record. In the defence, Ibrahima Konaté missed six, though the overlap between him and Alisson was only two games.

Further up the pitch, Diogo Jota looked like Arne Slot’s pick as first-choice No. 9 early in the season, but an injury severely disrupted his campaign. They haven’t pushed him since his return.

Depth chart

Alisson’s injury barely impacted the team and that’s a credit to their commitment to keep an excellent backup goalkeeper in Caoimhín Kelleher.

Not every top club takes this precaution; others risk a huge drop in quality between their No. 1 and No. 2. If Arsenal lost David Raya or Aston Villa lost Emi Martínez for eight games, there’d be a crisis. When Guglielmo Vicario fractured his ankle in November, Spurs struggled until January and then signed an appropriate backup in Antonin Kinsky.

Losing Jota for a spell hurt the Premier League leaders, but deploying Díaz as a roaming, “almost false No. 9” was a tactical masterstroke from Slot. Konaté was perhaps the most impactful absence, but Liverpool called upon solid depth in Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah, who hasn’t missed a squad all season.

Ultimately, the club’s few injuries have been dealt with fairly comfortably.

Did the January transfer window help?

No, but it didn’t need to. Liverpool did not carry any long-term injury concerns into the window, so they didn’t need to act. They spent most of the month linked to a left-back (Milos Kerkez at AFC Bournemouth, Antonee Robinson at Fulham), but that was with quality in mind, not depth.

Arsenal: 2nd, 58 points from 29 games

First-choice XI

GK: David Raya
DF: Jurriën Timber, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Ben White
MF: Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Martin Ødegaard
FW: Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli

Matchday squads missed combined: 53
Major injuries to note (games missed): White 15, Saka 13, Ødegaard 8, Calafiori 9, Havertz 7
Players who missed 2 or fewer matchday squads: 5

Key takeaways

Injuries have been the story of Arsenal’s season. It began in the summer, when newcomer Mikel Merino fractured his shoulder during his first training session, and it has continued to March, with star forward Bukayo Saka missing the past 13 games because of a torn hamstring.

Midway through the campaign, Ben White had knee surgery, forcing him to miss 15 games. Seven of those overlapped with Saka’s absence, leaving Mikel Arteta without two-thirds of his vaunted right-sided combination, seriously harming his team’s creative capacity — and placing far too much strain on Martin Ødegaard, who hasn’t looked right since returning from an ankle ligament problem at the start of the season.

In January, Gabriel Jesus tore his ACL, then in February, Kai Havertz injured his hamstring, leaving the club without a recognised senior striker. Starting in mid-February, the Gunners played five consecutive games without any of their first-choice front three because of injury.

Depth chart

On paper, Arsenal have good depth in defence.

Arteta learned from the failed 2023 title charge, which was derailed by William Saliba’s injury, and stocked up on players for the back line, meaning White was covered well by Jurriën Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly could fill in for Riccardo Calafiori. Ideally, Arteta would probably have turned to Takehiro Tomiyasu at points, but he has missed the season because of a knee injury.

Further up the pitch, though, they’ve struggled to stay afloat. Without Ødegaard on the team, they lacked creativity, while without Saka, they looked low on firepower. Leandro Trossard and teenager Ethan Nwaneri have done their best to fill in, and Merino has stepped in as a No. 9 to solve a crisis. It has been just enough to keep them comfortably in second place behind Liverpool, but hopes of a Premier League title died long ago.

Did the January transfer window help?

No, but it could have. Even before Jesus tore his ACL, there was a wave of demand for Arsenal to sign an established centre-forward in January. But apart from briefly thinking about signing Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa, nothing seemed to happen — then, two weeks after the window shut, Havertz went down, too.

There was also an option to recall Fabio Vieira from his loan at FC Porto, perhaps alleviating some of the creative burden on Ødegaard, but the club decided against it. Vieira hasn’t been a surefire starter for the Dragão this term, but it might have been worth a shot.

First-choice XI

GK: Matz Sels
DF: Neco Williams, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Ola Aina
MF: Danilo, Elliot Anderson; Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi
FW: Chris Wood

Matchday squads missed combined: 29
Major injuries to note (games missed): Danilo (22), Hudson-Odoi (3), Gibbs-White (2)
Players who missed 2 or fewer matchday squads: 9

Key takeaways

Nottingham Forest are the only club on this list who do not have midweek European commitments (yet), which has been a big factor in avoiding injuries. Just one serious injury — Danilo’s broken ankle — has genuinely impacted their first team, and even that came in the opening game of the season. Other than that, Callum Hudson-Odoi has missed a handful of games, Morgan Gibbs-White sat out a couple, Murillo missed one … and that’s about it.

Six of Nuno Espírito Santo’s preferred first XI have not missed a matchday squad this season because of injury, a list that notably includes 18-goal Chris Wood, who is powering their Champions League dreams.

Depth chart

Forest have great depth at the position that has been hit by injury this season. Danilo is a good player and it was a blow to lose him, but between Ryan Yates (1,543 minutes played) and Nicolás Domínguez (1,399 minutes played), they’ve replaced him without skipping a beat. Both have complemented Elliot Anderson in the centre very well.

Did the January transfer window help?

No, but it didn’t need to. Forest’s only movement was players leaving on loan, or in James Ward-Prowse’s case, having his loan terminated despite Danilo’s injury.

The Tricky Trees are barely a year removed from receiving a Premier League points deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules. It was probably best to have a quiet winter anyway.

Chelsea: 4th, 49 points from 29 games

First-choice XI

GK: Robert Sánchez
DF: Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella
MF: Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo
FW: Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson

Matchday squads missed combined: 53
Major injuries to note (games missed): Lavia (15), Fofana (13), James (12), Badiashile (12), Jackson (5)
Players who missed 2 or fewer matchday squads: 6

Key takeaways

Chelsea’s number of first XI injuries (53) is the same as Arsenal’s, and that’s not the only parallel: The Blues and the Gunners have been hit hard in particular positions throughout the season.

Centre-back has been a bit of a revolving door next to Levi Colwill, and it was unfortunate that first-choice striker Nicolas Jackson and backup Marc Guiu went down at the same time. Reece James’ long-standing physical issues have not gone away and Roméo Lavia has endured a second consecutive injury-plagued campaign.

There have been some constants, though. Enzo Maresca has always called upon Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo and until, last weekend, Cole Palmer. Colwill has missed just one game due to ailments, while Enzo Fernández has missed just two.

Depth chart

This is where having a massive squad — plus a little bit of experience in dealing with injury-prone players — can come in handy.

Chelsea are aware that James is unreliable, so they brought in Malo Gusto in 2023 to ensure that right-back was properly covered. Wesley Fofana has also missed time, having sustained serious ACL and hamstring injuries since joining the club, but the Blues have stocked the squad with several quality center backs to turn to in reserve.

That planning was severely lacking up front, though. Again, similar to Arsenal, some fans are not convinced that Jackson is the answer at No. 9 and believe he should at least be challenged by another natural, senior striker. Chelsea disagreed but were proven wrong, as Jackson’s injury has forced midfielders Christopher Nkunku and Pedro Neto to fill in up top.

Did the January transfer window help?

No. The Blues’ January actions actually hindered the team.

It was curious to watch the club farm out valuable depth during the window and make few corresponding moves to bring back players. João Félix, Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga, Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell all departed. None were key players, but the first three each played more than 900 minutes in all competitions in the first half of the season.

In recent weeks, as fatigue has set in, the Conference League games have stacked up and injuries have mounted, Maresca might be wishing he had some of those players back. Instead, Félix is enjoying life at AC Milan, Disasi is shining at Aston Villa and Chukwuemeka is turning heads at Borussia Dortmund.

First-choice XI

GK: Éderson
DF: Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Rúben Dias, Josko Gvardiol
MF: Rodri, Ilkay Gündogan, Phil Foden
FW: Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Savinho

Matchday squads missed combined: 51*
Major injuries to note (games missed): Rodri (26), Dias (11), Ederson (6)
Players who missed 2 or fewer matchday squads: 6

Key takeaways

This conversation can start in only one place: Rodri. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has missed all but a sliver of this Premier League campaign because of an ACL injury, and though Man City initially appeared to be coping in his absence, performances and results soon regressed.

What didn’t help during this period was the centre-back corps were wracked by injuries, too. Defensive leader Rúben Dias has missed 11 games, John Stones 14, Nathan Aké 12, and Manuel Akanji seven. When you put it like that, it’s no wonder they’ve conceded more goals (40) than any other City side under Guardiola — and there are still nine games to play!

Goalkeeper Éderson has also missed some time, and midfielders Jack Grealish, Jérémy Doku and Phil Foden have dealt with injuries, too.

There have been some positives, though. Joško Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva and Rico Lewis have avoided injury, while Erling Haaland has missed just one game.

Depth chart

The step down from Rodri — no matter who fills in — is massive. He has not only proven irreplaceable in central midfield, but his absence has exposed flaws in other areas of the team that perhaps even Pep had not seen. Mateo Kovacic is about as good a backup as you can get, but after a while, even he struggled to cover the space required to play the “Rodri role” to a high level.

Four good senior centre-backs should be enough for a top club to survive a season, but with so many of them injured at the same time, City often had just two to call upon.

Stefan Ortega is a fine stand-in for Éderson, but losing Doku and Grealish simultaneously was a problem — especially given Oscar Bobb has missed the season because of a broken leg — as it forced Matheus Nunes to play as a winger for a spell.

Did the January transfer window help?

Yes, massively. After probably not being active enough last summer, signing just two players, they corrected things during the winter, signing four players for £29 million or more each. That also helped offset the departure of veteran Kyle Walker, who joined AC Milan.

Centre-backs Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis were both acquired and integrated into the first team, reinforcing how hard City had been hit at that position. The former has already eclipsed 500 league minutes with Stones, Akanji and Aké currently injured.

Omar Marmoush was bought for big money after a stunning 18 months at Eintracht Frankfurt, and he has carried his positivity and good form into the attack, scoring four goals in six starts. Then, on deadline day, City brought in Nico Gonzalez as their Rodri replacement. A €60m arrival from FC Porto, he’s the closest they could get to the Ballon d’Or winner in terms of profile: strong, good on the ball, tactically astute and capable of covering the required ground.

Nico has already had some really strong performances — most notably in the 4-0 destruction of Newcastle United — which suggests Rodri has, finally, been appropriately backed up.

Shaping the league’s Champions League and title chase

On one hand, Liverpool’s injury prevention has been worth celebrating, as it has helped them keep a consistent XI and all of their key players on the pitch. But on the other, it’s arguable this clean bill of health has partially backfired because Slot has leaned heavily on such a small group, they’re now exhausted, leading to a sluggish exit from the Champions League and a Carabao Cup final loss within days.

Arsenal have been hit so hard that they’re probably too far adrift of the Reds to give them a real scare over the final nine games. The same can also be said for City, who are even further back, and it’s possible the scale of their injury difficulties hasn’t been appreciated in full. It’s just as easy to explain away the Gunners’ lack of goals (the forwards are injured) as it is City allowing them (the centre-backs are injured).

Forest have clearly enjoyed the best of both worlds: just one major injury that proved barely noticeable due to their ability to cover it, and most crucially, no midweek European action to strain the first-choice players. Nuno has done a phenomenal job with this team, but he has also benefited from good injury fortune in a way that, say, Brighton have not.

Chelsea’s situation is perhaps the most curious. They’re vastly experienced in covering for injuries and built a huge squad to cover them, only to loan or move out much of that depth at the halfway point and leave themselves short heading into February.

Injuries have played a major role in shaping the Premier League’s top five this season. It’s no coincidence that Liverpool and Forest have had successful seasons powered by a healthy squad, while Arsenal, City and Chelsea’s struggles can be sourced, to varying degrees, to their busy treatment rooms.