With the 2023/24 season all but wrapped up, KickOff's Lukhanyo Mtuta takes a look at five players who were sorely missed by their clubs in the course of the campaign, including FC Barcelona's Gavi.
Gavi - FC Barcelona
In November 2023, the 19-year-old suffered a season-ending cruciate ligament tear while playing for Spain, which dealt Barca boss Xavi Hernandez a massive blow to his aspirations of defending the LALIGA title. Gavi was already an integral part of the team, having started in 11 of the first 12 league games he was available for. "It is a huge loss for us," Xavi said at the time, according to ESPN. "You can't replace him; the heart, passion, and courage he plays with. We have to try and find solutions without him, but it's difficult."
His absence was fully felt, as Xavi had expected, with the Catalans going trophyless this season and having to settle for second in LALIGA by more than 10 points.
Read: Five things we learned from the 23/24 Premier League season!
Lisandro Martinez - Manchester United
The Argentine has missed a whopping 36 matches due to injury this term, through three separate setbacks, namely injuries to the foot, knee, and calf. In the midst of his absence, United have gone on to set several unwanted defensive records, including the most goals they have conceded in a Premier League season (58) and the most losses too (14). Martinez's time on the sidelines forced manager Erik ten Hag to rely on the likes of Luke Shaw and Casemiro at centre-back for several games, and the Red Devils will not be playing any European football next season if they fail to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup on the weekend.
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Kaoru Mitoma - Brighton Hove Albion
The Japan international was one of the most sought-after wingers in Europe ahead of the 2023/24 campaign after impressing in the season prior. Despite links with clubs such as Barca and Manchester City, the 27-year-old opted to stay at Brighton and featured regularly for the side up until late December, when he missed the entire Christmas and New Year's period. After returning from injury for two games in February following the Asian Championship, he was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the season later that month due to a back injury. Of the 17 Premier League matches Mitoma missed this season, Brighton won only four of them, with the Seagulls taking a big step backwards this season, finishing 11th, their lowest since 2020/21.
Wesley Fofana - Chelsea
Chelsea's most expensive defender played zero games in 2023/24 due to a cruciate ligament tear he sustained during pre-season. The Frenchman joined the club in August 2022 from Leicester City in a deal worth €80.4 million (R1.5 billion). But this term, he has not received any chance to justify his lofty price tag, while his club struggled tremendously in the first half of the season. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has been forced to use six different central defenders this term, namely Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi, Levi Colwill, Bashir Humphreys, Benoit Badiashile, and Trevoh Chalobah in the Frenchman's absence.
Ivan Toney - Brentford
The England striker missed the first five months of the season due to a ban for sports betting. Having registered 20 goals and four assists in the 2022/23 Premier League season, his prolific output was sorely missed by Brentford, who lost 10 of the 20 league games Toney missed. Since his return in January, the striker has contributed four goals and two assists in 15 starts for Thomas Frank's side. The Bees finished 16th on the table, their lowest finish since arriving in the English top flight in 2021/22.
Read: Transfer Gossip: Europeans giants finding their targets
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