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There have been a number of high profile injuries in the football world in recent years. Some have been career threatening and some sadly career ending. It seems that Arsenal have suffered more than their fair share of injuries in recent years and their manager Arsene Wenger isn’t reluctant to keep mentioning this fact. What this has served to highlight is the importance of sports insurance at every level.

Professional sportsmen naturally rely on their physical capability to play the game and any problems will directly affect that. It is therefore absolutely imperative for them to have adequate sports team insurance in place. Semi professional sportsmen too, will have some income from sport and they will need to protect this too by having the correct type of sports club insurance. Even if you are an amateur sportsman however, insurance is vital as any injuries may affect your ability to work.

Arsenal travelled to Stoke City last season in a game that was overshadowed by an injury to their promising Welsh International Aaron Ramsey. The midfielder suffered a horrific broken leg that could have ended his career but fortunately he is slowly making his way towards a full recovery. After almost a year out of the game, Arsenal have loaned him to Nottingham Forest and then Cardiff City as he regains fitness. The club’s sports team insurance would have been important for them while they were without his services.

Former Arsenal centre forward Eduardo da Silva suffered a similar misfortune in 2008 when he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle in a match against Birmingham City. Once again it took almost a year before Eduardo returned and although he too has made a good recovery, he has been sold by Arsenal and is currently playing at Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. How much an impact that injury had on the player’s career will never be known but all are grateful that he is playing again.

Officials at Arsenal would have been reviewing Arsenal’s sports club insurance cover after both incidents. Both Ramsey and Eduardo did return but other players have had their careers ended by injury and are left to rely on an insurance company payout to compensate for their ruined career.

After these two injuries, Arsene Wenger must be concerned every time one of his players goes down under a tackle. Fortunately there have been no repeats to date but he has been without key players such as Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas for periods of time due to more minor injury problems.

As previously mentioned, insurance against sports injuries isn’t just the domain of a wealthy football club. For the active individual, it is vitally important to ensure you have adequate sports insurance for any sports that you take part in.

If you are self employed and can’t work following a sports accident, then you must seek sports insurance against this and there are a number of providers who you can talk to. Even if you are in regular employment, it is worth checking with your employer’s health insurer just to make certain that cover is in place.

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Those doing sports betting at BetUs have been watching Arsenal try to pull off a historic quadruple as they are in the Carling Cup final on Sunday against Birmingham, and they’re still alive in the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Premiership. But with the fixtures piling up, injuries could be a major obstacle for the Gunners.

Arsenal beat Stoke City 1-0 at the Emirates on Wednesday thanks to Sebastien Squillaci’s goal in the seventh minute, but it came at a cost as captain Cesc Fabregas limped off with a knee injury after only 14 minutes, and Theo Walcott had to be stretchered off in the 71st minute with what looks like a knock to this ankle. This can’t be good for Arsenal, who have a number of important matches on the horizon. Neither would have likely featured in Sunday’s match, but more importantly, the Gunners have a replay at home in the FA Cup against Leyton Orient next Wednesday. Next, Arsenal will host Sunderland in a big Premiership match next Saturday, and it’s big because the Gunners are only a point behind leaders Manchester United (who have a game in hand) at the top of the table.

Then it gets really interesting: on March 8th, Arsenal will head to Barcelona for the second leg of their massive Champions League tie, taking a 2-1 lead into the Nou Camp. Providing they get past Leyton Orient, Arsenal will then travel to Old Trafford four days later to meet Manchester United in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. We don’t know the extent of the injuries suffered by Fabregas and Walcott, but it is worrying that the Gunners didn’t have striker Robin van Persie or defender Laurent Koscielny available against Stoke. The big games to watch for is the visit from Leyton Orient next weekend and then, of course, the trip to Barcelona which will be the biggest test of the season for the Gunners. Manager Arsene Wenger will have to prioritize what he wants to go for, because the Gunners don’t have the depth to deal with these challenges, especially without Fabregas and/or Walcott.