Leeds United-linked midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has moved to address concerns over his fitness as he looks to make his return to football.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was linked with a move to Leeds during the summer transfer window, as his spell in Turkey with Besiktas came to an end.
The former England international was spotted training with Arsenal recently, while he waits to find his next club.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has admitted that he would prefer his next club to be in England, in a boost to Leeds’ hopes of landing a deal for the experienced 32-year-old.
Now, the former Premier League man has attempted to assuage concerns over his fitness, explaining that there is a misconception that he has been prone to minor injuries throughout his career.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in action for Besiktas.
Photo by dia images via Getty Images
Premier League winner Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on injury history
Speaking on Ben Foster’s FozCast, Oxlade-Chamberlain explained his frustration at what he believes to be a misconception over his injury track record.
Although the Portsmouth-born man accepts that he has suffered some significant injuries in his career, he denies being injury-prone, stating that the majority of his setbacks were impact-based.
Oxlade-Chamberlain said: “That whole injury misconception thing has haunted me for years, you know, I can remember when I did my ACL at Liverpool. It was in 2018, and I can remember going into interviews in 2021, and people still asking me about my ACL.
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“I don’t know how many games I’d played since then, but it was definitely a thing. I’m not sure about injuries.
“When you’re at a big club and you’ve got a bit of a profile, you’re playing for England, maybe your injuries or whatever are a bit more high profile, and everyone knows about them. But I always felt like whenever I got injured, it was always a bad one.
“So I didn’t get many little hamstrings or anything like that. It was always a knee that kept me out for a spell of time. And in a way, I always look at mine and think they always seem to happen right when I’m flying.
“So I was not a hot topic, but at that point, I was really doing well. So then when I got the injury, it was like a bigger story.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in action during Goztepe v Besiktas - Turkish Super Lig
Photo by Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu via Getty Images
How many games has Leeds United target Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain missed through injury?
Oxlade-Chamberlain made his full debut in the League Cup for Southampton in the 2009/10 season and has made 443 appearances for club and country.
However, injuries are inevitable in a 15-year career, and the midfielder has missed several significant periods throughout his career.
According to TransferMarkt, Oxlade-Chamberlain has missed a total of 233 games over the course of his career, including one major injury in 2017/18 when an ACL injury ruled him out of 58 games in total.
A torn thigh muscle kept him out of 18 games in his first year in Turkey, before missing four games with a knee ligament strain last season.