Proof Danny Welbeck's injury woes are being blown out of proportion as Chelsea chase deal
Danny Welbeck has become infamous for his injury record over his near-two-decade-long spell as a Premier League striker.
The 35-year-old began his career at Manchester United, joining Preston and Sunderland on loan, before a five-year spell at Arsenal.
Despite his age, he remains one of the most feared centre-forwards in the Premier League, especially at Stamford Bridge.
Welbeck's seven goals against the Blues is the most he has against a single team in the Premier League, with Xabi Alonso also a huge admirer of his leadership qualities.
Unsurprisingly, though, supporters in West London have raised concerns over the player's long list of injury issues. Football Insider is here to squash those worries.
Danny Welbeck's recent injury issues analysed
Welbeck became very well-known for his issues with Arsenal, picking up three separate injuries that caused him to miss 36, 41 and 40 games, respectively.
Knee, ankle, hamstring, groin, hip, toe. He's hurt them all, and come back even stronger each time. Very few have that kind of determination.
Since joining the Seagulls, there have been two occasions of him missing 11 games in a row, once in 2021-22 and a second in 2023-24.
However, in the last two campaigns, he has played a total of 76 games, scoring 25 goals, and missing just six matches due to injury.
It should be pointed out that Welbeck only started 26 of his 37 Premier League appearances last term, but it's clearly all about managing his minutes.
Welbeck not even close to top of Chelsea's all-time oldest players
At 35 years of age, it would be safe to assume that Welbeck would be one of the club's oldest players, at least of those playing outfield.
However, you would assume wrong, even without mentioning goalkeeping duo Mark Schwarzer, 41 years, seven months, five days, and Willy Caballero, 38 years, 11 months, and 29 days.
Thiago Silva was 39 years of age when he made his final appearance for the Blues, while Didier Drogba was 37 years old, and John Terry was 35 years and five months.
So clearly, Welbeck would not even come close in the list of Chelsea's oldest players, but the link has certainly raised a lot of eyebrows ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.