Aaron Ramsey’s injury curse has struck once again, with Cardiff City manager Omer Riza confirming that the midfielder remains “a long way off” from returning to action.
The Wales captain has been sidelined since September after suffering a hamstring injury during international duty in Montenegro, and there is no clear timeline for his recovery.
In what is sadly a familiar story, what was initially believed to be a minor setback has now extended into a three-month absence, with Riza offering no guarantees about when, or even if, Ramsey might play again this season. “He is still rehabbing and he will be ready when he is ready,” Riza said after Cardiff’s midweek defeat to Preston North End. “It is important we get him to the point where he’s training consistently.
“Then we can look at whether he will play and at what stage he will play. There is no point in me talking now, saying ‘I think he will play on this date’, because there have been a few reoccurrences, so it would be unfair of me to put pressure on him.
“It’s frustrating for me, frustrating for him, frustrating for the club and the fans. But he has had some bad injuries and we have to help him get through them.”
This latest blow continues a long and frustrating pattern in Ramsey’s career, one that began with the devastating leg break he suffered in 2010 while playing for Arsenal.
The compound fracture to his tibia and fibula, inflicted by a reckless challenge from Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross, sidelined him for nearly a year and marked the beginning of an injury-plagued career.
Since returning to Cardiff City in the summer of 2023 following a stint with Nice, Ramsey has managed just 17 appearances for his boyhood club. His recurring fitness issues have raised doubts about his long-term future at Cardiff, particularly with his contract set to expire next June.
Riza admitted that discussions are always “ongoing with the board, with myself, the players, with contracts and that will continue”, but emphasised that the immediate focus is on Ramsey’s recovery.
For a player once hailed as one of Europe’s most dynamic midfielders, Ramsey’s career has become a story of “what might have been.”
His FA Cup-winning goals for Arsenal and his leadership of Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 stand as testaments to his talent. Yet, these moments of brilliance have been overshadowed by an unrelenting series of injuries, including persistent muscular problems that have hampered his ability to maintain form and consistency.
Ramsey’s current situation epitomises the challenges he has faced throughout his career. Riza’s reluctance to speculate on a return date reflects the cautious approach necessitated by Ramsey’s history of setbacks, including several reoccurrences of similar injuries.
The uncertainty now extends to whether Ramsey will ever wear Cardiff’s shirt again, with his fitness struggles casting a long shadow over his second spell at the club.
As the months tick by and the questions surrounding his future grow louder, Ramsey’s injury curse remains an agonising reminder of the fine margins in football. For all his achievements, his career has been defined more by the effect of Tony Pulis’s ‘tactics’ than his own talent.
Whether he can overcome this latest setback remains to be seen, but for now, the spectre of injuries continues to loom large over the Welshman’s legacy.