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Dejected Diaby calls injury talk 'painful, on a psychological level'

Reuters

Marseille midfielder Abou Diaby admitted sticks and stones can break his bones, but names aren't helping either.

The towering oft-injured Frenchman is finally enjoying a spell of fitness after years of compounding ailments at Arsenal, and while 42 injuries between 2006-15 have left a physical toll, DIaby concedes talk of his health has a "psychological" impact as well.

"They say I'm 'L'Homme de Verre.' It means that I'm made of glass," Diaby told Adam Crofton from the Daily Mail. "It can be painful, on a psychological level. They don't know how much I give every day of my life to try and recover. But hey, what can I do? This is my life story."

A life story indeed, where a once promising career rife with comparisons to another angular Arsenal midfield stopper, Patrick Vieira, became a predictable script.

Signed from Auxerre during the window in January 2006, the Paris-born midfielder started his Gunners tenure with a slew of influential substitute appearances, including a Champions League last-16 victory over Real Madrid. Handed the No. 2 kit last work by Lee Dixon, big things were expected of the leggy midfielder.

Related - Abou Diaby: The will of the perpetually injured footballer

Those hopes came to a crashing halt during a Premier League match against Sunderland in May 2016, when Black Cats defender Dan Smith shattered Diaby's ankle courtesy of a daft tackle.

"Of course it is the moment that killed everything," Diaby said. "That's where it all came from. It gave me a big restriction on my ankle and I overcompensated with other parts of my body. Before that, I'd never had a muscular injury, my lifestyle was good."

With 14 appearances and a goal for Marseille since making the north London switch last summer, Diaby has nursed a few minor concerns, but appears relatively healthy as the Cote-d'Azur outfit kicks off a pivotal campaign on the heels of last season's disaster.

Diaby knows he will never escape talk of his fragile physique, though as his career approaches its later stages, the 29-year-old is finding value in limiting his regrets.

"But really, there is no resentment any more. I left it behind a long time ago," Diaby admits.

"The only thing I wish is that it had happened later in my career. If it happened when I was 28, things might have been different. Between 19 and 27, I would have had time to progress, play every week and be the player I should have been."

Such is the fleeting nature of youth.

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