How Costly Are Brentford's Injury Casualties?
- essentialbrentford
- Aug 14, 2015
- 3 min read
Signing for Brentford has become somewhat of a poisened chalice. Several signings in that past year or so have joined the club for large fees, only to pick up long-term injuries after minimal playing time at the club.
The question is, who will want to sign for Brentford if they think that they will inevitably sustain an injury sooner or later, as seems to be the case at the moment.
The causes of these injuries range from the unknown (McEachran's injury allegedly sustained by a tackle from Diagouraga in training) to the frankly bizzarre (MacLeod falling in a rabbit hole at our training ground - pictured at the top of the article).
We take a more in-depth look at the casualties suffered and what it has cost the club...
NAME: Scott Hogan
INJURY: Knee
COST: £750,000 (Rochdale)
LEAGUE PLAYING TIME: 16 minutes
Hogan arrived last Summer from Rochdale for a hefty fee of 750K. Warburton intended to make him our primary striker, with Andre Gray serving as back-up. However, the 23-year-old suffered an injury at the end of August, in a match against Rotherham United.
He came on as a second half substitute but sustained his nasty injury after just 16 minutes on the field.
A further set-back in Hogan's rehabilitation means that he will not feature this season either. However, despite the monetary cost that this misfortune has cost the club, the impact on the field has not yet been felt to heavily as Andre Gray proved to be a revelation last season.
NAME: Lewis MacLeod
INJURY: Hamstring
COST: £1,000,000 (Rangers)
LEAGUE PLAYING TIME: 0 minutes
The former Rangers man moved to Griffin Park while recovering with a hamstring injury before a freak injury setback delayed his debut.
Some reports suggest that he fell down a rabbit hole at the seemingly perilous Brentford training ground, whilst others claimed that he tripped over a twig.
Either way, he seemed close to making his debut towards the end of last season, but Warburton's determination to stick to the same squad that had performed so well throughout the season meant that he didn't want to risk upsetting the balance of things by introducing the unknown quantity of MacLeod.
The large sum of money spent on him would suggest that he is set to be a regular this season, but the copious amount of midfielders in the squad throws his future into doubt. Indeed, he has rather disappeared of the radar in recent weeks.
Some are suggesting that he was swallowed by the quicksand surface of the Griffin Park pitch, but these reports are yet to be confirmed.
NAME: Josh McEachran
INJURY: Broken Foot
COST: £750,000 (Chelsea)
LEAGUE PLAYING TIME: 0 minutes
Brentford midfielder Josh McEachran has been ruled out for three months after breaking his foot in training.
The former Chelsea man collided with Toumani Diagouraga in training and the medical reports confirmed that he has broken three bones in his foot.
Head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen was bemoaning the freak accident and felt as if nothing had happened in the incident.
McEachran was, and still remains, an exciting prospect. His return will certainly boost the team during the busy Christmas period.
NAME: Andreas Bjelland
INJURY: Knee
COST: £2,500,000
LEAGUE PLAYING TIME: 0 minutes
Cue the "injury to your bellend" jokes.
Andreas Bjelland sustained a significant injury to his left knee during the Capital One Cup tie against Oxford United on Tuesday, 11 August.
The Danish international suffered the injury and was forced to leave the field shortly before half-time.
Following 48 hours of diagnostic screening and consultations with appropriate medical specialists it has been confirmed that Andreas will require surgery to repair the injury and is likely to miss the remainder of the 2015/16 season.
Bjelland's injury is perhaps the most disappointing of the bunch. The record signing for the club, he looked calm and composed against Stoke. Our defence needed desperate improving after last season and he seemed the perfect answer.
Hopefully Dean, Tarkowski and Barbet can step up to the challenge and ensure that we stay on course for a successful season.
We've whipped out the calculator, and for those interested here are the final stats when all four players are considered:
TOTAL COST: £5,000,000
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 16 minutes
AVERAGE COST/MIN: £312,500
AVERAGE COST/MATCH: £1,757,813
Comments