Five players returning from long-term injuries this season

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Injuries play a massive part in football and sometimes they keep top players on the sidelines for a number amount of months.

Here are five players returning from injuries who could play an important role for their clubs this upcoming season.

Virgil Van Dijk

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Van Dijk was ruled out for nine months after undergoing surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament last October. He suffered the injury in the Merseyside Derby and it was the start of a plague of injuries in the centre-half role for Liverpool.

Joel Matip and Joe Gomez made a combined 17 league appearances and it led to the club signing of Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies in January.

In order to be fit for the upcoming season, the Dutch defender chose to miss Euro 2020 to avoid any potential injuries. The Dutchman played a pivotal role in getting the Netherlands back into their first major tournament since 2014 but decided to remain on the sidelines as his nation reached the Round of 16 before being eliminated by the Czech Republic.

He made his first appearance since October as a second-half substitute in a pre-season friendly against Hertha Berlin. The Premier League and Champions League winner will hope to get Liverpool back in the running for the league title after a disappointing campaign for the Reds last season.

Ansu Fati

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18-year-old Ansu Fati is set to make his return this season after being on the sidelines since November after a knee injury forced him off against Real Betis.

The Spaniard has had three surgeries to try and fix his meniscus injury as his initial four-month injury was prolonged after he contracted a knee infection. This meant he had to miss both Euro 2020 and the Olympics, tournaments in which his club and country teammate Pedri has excelled.

Barcelona expect Fati to be back in training in August and hope that he can make his comeback appearance in September.

Raul Jimenez

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Jimenez made his first appearance since November 29th in Wolves’ 1-0 defeat to Crewe Alexandra.
The Mexican suffered a fractured skull when he clashed heads with David Luiz at the Emirates Stadium.

Despite being cleared to play in May, he was not risked due to the severity of the injury and now wears protective headgear on the pitch.

The striker is an influential part of the Wolves system and has scored 48 goals in 110 appearances for the club. They finished 13th in the Premier League last season and new manager Bruno Lage will hope Jimenez can continue from where he left off.

Harvey Barnes

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Barnes, like Fati, was looking to be a strong contender to make the national team for the Euros, but an injury in February against Arsenal ruled him out for the season.

The 23-year-old scored a joint-best nine league goals last season and also bagged three goals in eight Europa League appearances. He made his England debut in a 3-0 victory over Wales in October as a substitute with Leicester City starting the 2020/21 season in fantastic fashion.

The FA Cup holders are preparing to face Manchester City in the Community Shield as Brendan Rodgers hopes to guide Leicester to more silverware this season.

Anthony Martial

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Martial’s injury caused controversy at the time as he suffered a knee injury on international with France as they played Kazakhstan. The forward went down in the 51st minute but was allowed to carry on until the hour-mark by the French medical staff.

Once he returned to Manchester, it was announced he would be ruled out for the remainder of the season, leaving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer frustrated as United pushed for the Europa League trophy.

The Frenchman only scored four league goals in what was a disappointing season for him but he still has an important role in this Manchester United squad. Marcus Rashford will miss the opening months of the new season as he prepares to undergo shoulder surgery to heal an ongoing issue.

Rashford got 20 combined goals and assists in the league last season, numbers which the likes of Martial will need to produce in the absence of the Englishman.

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