The heavy football calendar each year causes injury headaches for Premier League clubs, and the 2025-26 season has been no exception.
The Premier League is the most physically demanding league in the world, and clubs need depth in their squads to limit the impact of injuries over the course of a nine-month season.
Unfortunately for some clubs, that has not been the case in 2025-26, with long-term injury problems forcing players to miss a significant number of fixtures.
Data from Transfermarkt shows how Premier League teams rank by the number of games their players have missed due to injury this season, and the results are stark.
20-16
Nuno Espirito Santo
Leeds United have faced the fewest injury problems in the Premier League this season, with their players missing only 77 league games due to setbacks, the lowest total in the division.
Midfielder Sean Longstaff and wingers Daniel James and Wilfried Gnonto account for much of that figure, having been out for several weeks earlier in the campaign.
West Ham United players have missed 78 games in total, with much of that due to Lukasz Fabianski’s absence, as the Polish goalkeeper has missed almost the entire season through injury.
Everton are next with 98 games missed by injured players, with Jack Grealish and Jarrad Branthwaite among the notable long-term absentees.
Fulham and already-relegated Wolves have fared similarly in terms of injury problems, with their players missing 103 and 110 games respectively.
|Fewest Injury Problems (20-16)|
|Rank|Team|Players Injured|Games Missed Due to Injury|
|---|
|20|Leeds United|17|77|
|19|West Ham United|11|78|
|18|Everton|12|98|
|17|Fulham|18|103|
|16|Wolverhampton Wanderers|15|110|
15-10
Manchester Unitec Caretaker Manager Michael Carrick
Manchester United rank 15th, with their players missing 132 league games so far. The Red Devils’ main concerns all season have been in central defence, with Matthijs de Ligt yet to recover from a long-term setback.
Sunderland players have missed a total of 151 Premier League games, with the likes of Romaine Mundle, Habib Diarra and Bertrand Traore affected by injury issues.
Bournemouth are next with 153 games missed by players due to injury, with notable absences including Justin Kluivert, Julio Soler and Tyler Adams.
Brentford sit just above, with their players missing 167 league games. Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo remain long-term absentees ahead of the final run of fixtures, while Josh Dasilva has recently returned from a lengthy setback.
Aston Villa complete the bottom half of the table, with 170 games missed by players due to injury. Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans have both endured injury-hit campaigns, with Kamara ruled out until the end of the season.
|Lower Half (15-11)|
|Rank|Team|Players Injured|Games Missed Due to Injury|
|---|
|15|Manchester United|17|132|
|14|Sunderland|20|151|
|13|AFC Bournemouth|18|153|
|12|Brentford|19|167|
|11|Aston Villa|18|170|
10-6
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Brighton sit 10th, with players missing 197 games combined through injury. The Seagulls have been without Adam Webster for the entirety of the campaign, while Solly March and Stefanos Tzimas have also been hit by long-term setbacks.
Nottingham Forest are ninth, with 205 total games missed by injured players, including John Victor, Ola Aina, Nicolo Savona and Chris Wood, who have all endured injury-hit campaigns.
Championship-bound Burnley’s players have missed 215 games combined through injury, with notable absentees including Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts, Josh Cullen and Zeki Amdouni.
Title hopefuls Manchester City are seventh, with 225 games missed by injured players, including Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, John Stones and Ruben Dias, who have all suffered serious setbacks this term.
League leaders Arsenal sit sixth on the list, with Mikel Arteta’s side missing 232 games combined through injury. Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus have both missed significant time, while Mikel Merino and captain Martin Odegaard have also been sidelined.
|Upper Half (10-6)|
|Rank|Team|Players Injured|Games Missed Due to Injury|
|---|
|10|Brighton & Hove Albion|23|197|
|9|Nottingham Forest|18|205|
|8|Burnley|16|215|
|7|Manchester City|23|225|
|6|Arsenal|21|232|
5-1
Roberto De Zerbi
Defending Premier League winners Liverpool are fifth on the list, with a total of 239 games missed by injured players. Arne Slot has been without Giovanni Leoni for most of the campaign, while the likes of Alisson, Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike have also endured setbacks.
Chelsea rank fourth, with players missing 245 games combined through injury. Levi Colwill, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens are among those to have struggled with injury problems this season.
Crystal Palace players have missed a total of 250 games through injury so far this season, with Chadi Riad, Cheick Doucoure and Eddie Nketiah among those to miss games.
Newcastle are second on the list, with players missing 278 games in total due to setbacks. Fabian Schar, Tino Livramento, Emil Krafth and Anthony Gordon have all been unavailable lately.
Tottenham Hotspur rank first and are well clear of every other Premier League club, with their players missing 363 games combined this season.
Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have still not played a single minute, while the likes of Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, Yves Bissouma, Mohammed Kudus and Dominic Solanke have also been affected by injury problems this season.
|Most Injury Problems (5-1)|
|Rank|Team|Players Injured|Games Missed Due to Injury|
|---|
|5|Liverpool|17|239|
|4|Chelsea|23|245|
|3|Crystal Palace|21|250|
|2|Newcastle United|23|278|
|1|Tottenham Hotspur|27|363|