5.Neymar Jr Back Injury-World Cup 2014

In 2014 the world cup was held in Brazil, home of the ginga style of football, which includes surprise moves, foot tricks, and quick sprints in order to beat the opposition. One player that encompasses all these elements of football is Neymar Jr, the poster boy of the Brazilian national team. 

This was supposed to be Brazil's year to win the world cup for the first time since 2002, as they were tipped as favourites before the tournament to win the whole thing, and do it in their own backyard. The early signs were positive as Brazil topped their group, with Neymar scoring 4 goals. They then beat Chile on penalties in the round of 16 where they then faced Colombia in the quarter-finals.  

Brazil managed to win this game 2-1, however, disaster struck in the 88th minute of the game. Neymar received a drive from the knee of an opposition player into his lower back sending him into considerable pain. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and airlifted to the hospital. It was later revealed that Neymar had suffered a fracture to the L3 vertebrae in his back.   The reason this was such a high-profile case is because in the semi-finals Brazil faced Germany....where they lost heavily 7-1, with people believing this would not have happened if Brazil had been able to play with Neymar. Germany went on to win that year's world cup, but who knows if things would have been different without Neymar's injury? 

4.Petr Cech Head Injury-2006/07 Premier League

Petr Cech is a now-retired Czech goalkeeper who is most well-known for his time at Chelsea football club. This injury occurred on a random league game against Reading, very early on in the season in October. Furthermore, the injury occurred only 15 seconds into the game. 

Reading played a long ball over the Chelsea defence leaving a race to the ball between Petr Cech and Reading midfielder, Stephen Hunt. Both players went bravely for the ball, however, both players collided which resulted in Hunt’s knee colliding with the goalkeeper's head. This injury could have been incredibly more serious and death was inches away. Cech was rushed to John Radcliffe Hospital neurological unit in Oxford where he received life-saving surgery and received metal plates into his head. Cech was out for three months while he recovered from this serious head injury, and when we did return things would never be the same. 

The reason this case is so high-profile is because Cech continued his career wearing a trademark protective headguard, most commonly seen being worn by rugby players. Cech went on to play for another 23 years after his injury, whilst wearing his protective cap throughout the remainder of his career, which was a successful one, winning 4 league titles, 5 FA cups and the Champions League. 

3.Luke Shaw Leg Injury-2015 Champions League