Dutch Maestro or Sick Note?

So far this season to the delight of Manchester United and to the dismay of Arsenal fans, Robin Van Persie has had a blinding start to the new premier league.  His hat trick at the weekend seemed almost unimpressive by his standards, as he will surely be wondering why he didn’t just demolish the net with his penalty as opposed to attempting to tickle the ball cutely into the goal.  No doubt he will already be many fans hot favourite to etch his name onto the golden boot this season, but is this a wise prediction? 

After appearing to suffer a thigh injury this week on international duty.  Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal who claimed that the change was purely a ‘precautionary measure’ swiftly substituted Van Persie.  This may well be the case and it seems even more likely when it’s taken into the account that Man U’s other major signing Shinji Kagawa also pulled out of his midweek qualifier for Japan.  To me this seems more like Fergie’s influence than genuine injury concerns.  I would be very surprised if the two missed more than a game between them.

However, the point about this injury to Van Persie is not that this injury is threatening.  The point is that the injury reminded me of what a lot of Manchester United fans might be forgetting, RVP’s chequered past.  All in all, Robin Van Persie was at Arsenal for a grand total of eight seasons.  For the first 7 of those if you mentioned Robin’s name to anyone you would get the same response ‘great player, shame he’s always injured’.  Injury has plagued Van Persie for most of his career and this is not an exaggeration.  Whether it is the ankle in February in his first season, the metatarsal in 06/07 or the famous ‘horse placenta’ ligaments in 09/10, Robin has a problem.

Despite this, it cannot be taken away from the big Dutchman that he had one of the best seasons anyone has ever had in the premier league last season.  But if anything, shouldn’t this make a United fan worry more?  What are the chances of Van Persie having a season anywhere near as good as his last one? Unlikely.  What are the chances of him being fit as opposed to injured this season?  I’d say about 7 of his last 8 seasons suggest the latter.  Don’t count your chickens Man U. For more Football Blogs and opinion from football fans around the world