Premier League players who will be ‘like a new signing’ in 2026/27

It’s a phrase that Premier League fans have heard a thousand times every time any player returns from injury – ‘He’s like a new signing’.

However, in the most extreme cases of long-term absentees, it really will feel like a blast from the past for some supporters this season.

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On the opposite end of the scale, there will be several players set to miss the majority of the 2026/27 campaign through injury.

Tottenham playmaker Xavi Simons was left ‘heartbroken’ after a serious knee problem in April put him out for the foreseeable future.

Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike is out for nine months, having ruptured his Achilles against Paris Saint-Germain earlier that same month.

Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte is also facing up to a year on the sidelines after sustaining a knee ligament injury at the World Cup.

The positive for those clubs is that the solution is not always found in the transfer market but rather in a successful treatment room.

Premier League players ‘like a new signing’

Fábio Carvalho – Brentford

The 23-year-old has so far struggled to show why Brentford signed him from Liverpool in a deal worth £27.5million in 2024.

Carvalho, once compared to Philippe Coutinho, managed just two goals in 19 Premier League games in his first year in west London.

In his defence, only three of those appearances came as a start – and his fortunes didn’t change under Keith Andrews last season either.

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Carvalho played just six times in the Premier League in 2025/26 (one start) before sustaining an ACL injury in November.

Brentford head coach Andrews said: “It’s been a tough week for him; it’s devastating. He did it around a week ago in training.

“He’s someone I have a lot of respect for as a man.

“I have felt for him this season – he hasn’t been given as much of an opportunity as we would have ideally liked to have given him. He knows that, and we’ve been in constant communication about his development and ambitions as a player.

“Unfortunately, that’s been taken away from him for a period of time. But we’ll support him really well, like we always do. Fábio knows he’ll get the support from everyone at the football club, including me, throughout this difficult period.”

Carvalho missed the rest of the season through injury, but is expected to return in the early months of the upcoming campaign.

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Stefanos Tzimas – Brighton

The 20-year-old’s return from an ACL injury could be especially timely with Danny Welbeck agreeing terms on a move to Chelsea.

The Greek striker was called an ‘exceptional young talent’ by Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler after his £21m arrival from Nuremberg last year.

He was forced to wait for his chances, with his first eight Premier League appearances coming from the substitutes’ bench.

Tzimas scored his first English top-flight goal in a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest, and was rewarded with his first start, where he cruelly suffered a serious knee injury in a 3-4 home loss to Aston Villa.

But Brighton revealed at the start of July that the Greece under-21 international is back in training for pre-season.

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Tzimas boasted three goals and two assists in 12 appearances across all competitions before his injury in December

Cheick Doucoure – Crystal Palace

The 26-year-old has had a more torrid time than most with his injury issues curtailing most of the past two and a half years.

Doucoure’s stock was at an all-time high in 2023, when he was voted Palace’s player of the year and attracted interest from Liverpool.

The Eagles held onto their prized midfield asset, but the Malian has played just 13 senior games since his first injury that November.

Doucoure ruptured his Achilles and then sustained a torn meniscus in his knee that has meant he didn’t play a minute last season.

Palace’s No.28 last appeared for the first-team on January 15, 2025 at Leicester City, and ended a 14-month absence for the U21s this March.

In what is a huge boost for new boss Pierre Sage, Doucoure has been able to play in both of Palace’s first two pre-season fixtures thus far.

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Giovanni Leoni – Liverpool

The Italian defender snubbed interest from other Premier League clubs to complete a £26m move to Anfield last summer.

Leoni was given the perfect billing upon his arrival, having been tipped to become the long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk.

After much fanfare, the 19-year-old started to impress on his Reds debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup in September.

However, Leoni left the field on a stretcher and was later revealed to have sustained an ACL injury that immediately ended his season.

The former Parma starlet is now close to returning to full training and is expected to play a part in pre-season under Andoni Iraola.

And it couldn’t be more timely for Liverpool, who saw centre-back Ibrahima Konate leave on a free transfer to Real Madrid in June.

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Stefan Bajcetic – Liverpool

New Reds boss Iraola may be even more excited at the prospect of his Spanish compatriot finally putting his injury woes behind him.

Still only 21, Bajcetic looked to be the future of Liverpool’s midfield after bursting onto the scene under Jurgen Klopp in 2022/23.

He became the youngest Liverpool player to start a Champions League knockout match for the club in a 5-2 home loss to Real Madrid in February 2023.

Yet an adductor injury weeks later prematurely ended his breakthrough campaign, and started three years of fitness issues.

Liverpool’s No.43 hasn’t played for the club since May 2024, and hasn’t featured at any level since undergoing a hamstring operation in May 2025 following a loan spell at Las Palmas.

But Bajcetic has been involved in Liverpool training again in Chicago, with Iraola optimistic of him returning to the pitch in pre-season.

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Matthijs de Ligt – Manchester United

talkSPORT’s dedicated Man United show Inside Devils have urged the club to offload the £43m defender this summer.

However, De Ligt will be itching to prove he still has a part to play under Michael Carrick as he recovers from a back injury.

The 26-year-old’s season came to an abrupt end in November, having played every minute of the first 13 Premier League games of last year.

The Netherlands international underwent successful surgery to fix his back issue in May and is expected to return in the early stages of United’s 2026-27 season.

“Since November I have done everything, pushing myself in every session and exploring every option, to get back to doing what I love, playing football,” De Ligt said in a statement.

“I am grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout a difficult period in my career.

“I remain as determined as ever to represent Manchester United and play in front of our incredible supporters as soon as possible.”

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Dejan Kulusevski – Tottenham

The Swede has not played at all since he suffered a patella injury in his right knee in Spurs’ 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in May, 2025.

Kulusevski had been enjoying a fine individual campaign until then, with Glenn Hoddle naming him Tottenham’s best player ‘by a mile’.

But he missed the Europa League final win over Manchester United after undergoing surgery and has had numerous setbacks since.

Kulusevski claimed in March this year that he hoped to be back in action in time for Sweden’s World Cup campaign.

The 26-year-old failed to recover in time, but Roberto De Zerbi issued a rare update on when fans could finally see him back in action.

“We have to see in the next couple of weeks,” De Zerbi said when asked about Kulusevski last week.

“He’s another important player. After one season, one complete season, without a game, we have to analyse better and better, don’t take risks, first of all for him and then for us.”