When Tariq Lamptey burst through at Brighton after leaving Chelsea in 2020, his fearless overlaps and blistering pace had fans and pundits tipping him as one of the Premier League’s most exciting right-backs.
Yet, instead of growing into that role, Lamptey has spent more time in the treatment room than on the pitch.
His career has been defined less by his talent and more by a brutal sequence of injuries.
The latest, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear suffered just weeks after joining Fiorentina in the summer of 2025, could sideline him for most of the season.
But this is only the latest chapter in a grim catalogue stretching back five years.
Lamptey’s first major setback came in December 2020 with a torn hamstring. He missed 197 days and 23 games, halting his progress just as he was cementing his place at Brighton.
A knee injury cost him 9 days and 1 game. Small compared to what was to come, but a sign of recurring problems with his lower body.
2022/23 – The knee nightmare
This was the season where patience began to wear thin. Lamptey was sidelined for 118 days, missing 20 games through another knee injury.
2023/24 – Multiple injuries
What followed was a series of shorter but frustrating layoffs.
That season was particularly cruel for Lamptey, with a string of setbacks that kept breaking his rhythm.
A muscle injury ruled him out for 41 days and nine matches before an unexplained problem sidelined him for another 44 days, costing him 11 more games.
He returned briefly, only to suffer another muscle issue that kept him out for four days and one game.
Later another muscular setback saw him miss 31 days and four matches. In total, Lamptey spent over four months out across four separate injuries in a single campaign.
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2024/25 – Another series of injury campaign
Just as Ghana were preparing for major qualifiers, Lamptey’s body once again betrayed him.
First, a muscle injury ruled him out for 14 days, costing him one match.
Not long after, a calf problem kept him sidelined for 18 days and two more games.
He also missed a further six days with illness, before an ankle injury became the most damaging setback of all, forcing him out for 46 days and seven matches.
Altogether, Lamptey endured four separate absences, losing more than 80 days and any chance of finding his rhythm on the pitch.
2025/26 – A cruel twist
Lamptey’s fresh start at Fiorentina has been shattered. A knee injury kept him out for 123 days and 6 matches before the devastating ACL tear confirmed his worst nightmare.
He had only just begun his Italian adventure when the curtain came crashing down.
Across these five years, Lamptey has endured at least 13 separate injuries, spending nearly 800 days on the sidelines.
Every time he seemed ready to deliver, his body failed him.
For Ghana, the blow is especially painful. Since committing to the Black Stars in 2022, Lamptey was supposed to solve a long-standing problem at right-back.
Instead, his appearances have been fleeting, always interrupted by the next setback.
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