There's two things certain about a footballer's life - injuries and death. Not taxes, as there's plenty of ways around that tricky situation.

Some players will get away with a week off with flu, whilst others spend more time in the physiotherapy room than the football pitch. With Jack Wilshere picking up another ankle injury against Manchester United we thought we'd ask which players have been the most unfortunate in the Premier League's history?

Well here's five of the most injury-prone players, of which two are still playing (sometimes!)...

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Jack Wilshere

Jack Wilshere didn't earn the nickname Jack Wheelchair by coincidence. The Arsenal man has spent almost a year on the sidelines since July 2011 and is (of course) out injured again after ankle surgery. Is everybody at the Gunners made of glass?

His recent displays for club and country suggested that we were finally going to see the best of the 22-year-old, but we'll have to wait and see how he recoups from his latest operation.

Abou Diaby

Unsurprisingly it's another Arsenal player on the list as the curse continues. The Frenchman's bad luck is beyond ridiculous now and after 39 injuries in the space of eight years at the Emirates, retirement seems a genuine prospect for Diaby.

Each time he returns from one injury he immediately picks up another after one or two matches - quite sensational that his contract has been renewed once before.

Dean Ashton

He may be a distant memory to some football supporters but to West Ham fans it's a case of the one that got away. 'Deano' was in the form of his life with the East London club before he got injured and had been rewarded with an England call-up. Yet a man whose career never quite got going after Shaun Wright-Phillips injured the ex-Norwich striker in a training session for the national team.

Ashton was by no means an injury-prone player but the one injury that he did pick up finished his career at just 26 years of age. He tried to return to football and managed 41 more games before being forced to call it a day - now that's unlucky. Especially considering he's only 31 now but has been retired for 4 years.

Kieron Dyer

Kieron Dyer made just 48 appearances in the final six years of his career. Up until his mid-twenties he was fine, but towards the end of his twenties and after joining West Ham in 2007, he picked up an injury in each and every following calendar year.

The injuries effectively ended his career slowly, as both West Ham and QPR lost faith in the ex-England international's body. Dyer retired after a short spell with Middlesborough aged 34 - he did well enough but a promising youngster was unfortunate to never deliver the goods.

Ledley King

For everyone that has played with him, he's the best ever defender. Yet Ledley only managed to muster up 21 appearances for England during an eight-year time frame.

King famously ran out of knee ligaments early in his career and that forced him to miss weeks of training but somehow managing to turn up and be the best player on the pitch come match day. Despite spending 13 years with Tottenham, he could only make 268 appearances due to the sheer amount of injuries.

King could/should have been one of the best England defenders of all time if fellow professionals are anything to go by. Unlucky son!