Injuries

Radamel Falcao used to be the most feared striker in the world. That's not an exaggeration. At the height of his powers, he was feared more than Suarez, more than Lewandowski and more than Benzema.

In his last season at Atletico Madrid, the Colombian scored 28 goals in 34 appearances. In fact, he ranked right behind Messi and Ronaldo as one of the best players on the planet.

Just check out Falcao's stats below.

Radamel Falcao's stats:

According to ESPNFC, Tim Howard's muscle injury sustained against Mexico Friday is worse than first thought, and the Rapids' goalkeeper is in danger of missing the rest of the MLS playoffs.

Listening to Zinedine Zidane’s post-game press conferences after Real Madrid drop points is kind of like listening to a broken record. After Real’s 3-3 draw with Legia Warsaw in Poland, Zidane once again came out and used the same excuses to describe his team’s performance. There was a:

Andres Iniesta is a consummate players’ player — his injury was felt around the planet as the loss of the Barcelona star is a loss to football as a whole. The knock he took against Valencia could’ve been a lot worse, but Iniesta is still expected to miss six to eight weeks.

At 32, serious damage to his lateral collateral ligament would’ve been devastating, and his presence was sorely missed in Barcelona’s loss to Manchester City in the Champions League.

Though Montreal Impact coach Mauro Biello has yet to admit it, Didier Drogba has turned his back on his teammates. After losing his starting role to newcomer Matteo Mancosu, the former Chelsea star has only managed 10 goals in 22 games this season, Drogba only played in four of the team’s final seven games; starting two and coming off the bench in two more.

Two years ago, the Netherlands were coming off a summer that saw them reach the World Cup semifinals but lose to Argentina in penalty kicks. The main cog in their success was 30-year-old Arjen Robben, who was arguably the player of the tournament — that’s an important admission coming from an Argentine like myself.

Robben was untouchable all tournament with defenders grasping at air as he waltzed by them constantly. He racked up three goals and an assist and nearly got the Dutch to their second straight World Cup final on his back.

16-year-old high school goalkeeper Reuben Nsemoh underwent a terrifying ordeal as a result of a concussion he suffered while playing soccer.

The sophomore ended up in a coma after being kicked in the head during a game. Check out the footage below.

Mariga Eugenia Rocca, a female assistant referee whose experience includes multiple Olympic Games and Women’s World Cups, has reported being struck in the back of the neck by a player while officiating a men’s fourth division game in Argentina.

The Argentina Referee Association is backing Rocca’s claims and has submitted a report to the Argentina Football Association for their review.

Everyone seems to be aware of the rise of concussions in major sports like American football and hockey, but many don’t realize that the risk of concussions has also started manifesting itself in other sports, including soccer. 

A recent youth soccer study published in the Journal of Pediatrics indicated that between 1990 and 2014, soccer-related emergency room visits have increased by 111%. Of those, more than 7% were concussions and 23% fractures.