5 injuries that have crippled their Premier League sides

Injury waits for no footballer. Whether mid-table journeyman or blockbuster marquee summer signing, ailments afflict all clubs, and temper the ambitions of both relegation favourites, and Premier League front-runners.

With nearly a third of the English top-flight campaign now in the rear-view, here are five treatment table darlings whose injuries have hampered their club's fortunes this season:

Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)

Monday's news that West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet was poised to miss three months with an ankle injury sent shockwaves through the bowels of Upton Park, with Slaven Bilic's sixth-place side set to be without their primary playmaker throughout the condensed Christmas schedule.

The summer signing from Marseille leads the Irons with five goals and three assists in all 12 of the side's league matches, and is second to Aaron Cresswell in minutes played.

His absence is certain to have consequences for the east London club, as Payet is likely to miss West Ham's next 15 Premier League matches.

Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)

If there's one injury this season that has put a severe dent in a club's ambitions, it's the Premier League debut effort from south coast side Bournemouth, and their loss of young striker Callum Wilson.

Wilson, 23, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during the Cherries' seventh league match of the season, a 2-1 loss to Stoke City at the Potters. The Coventry-born attacker has been sidelined for at least six months, leaving Eddie Howe's side with few goal-scoring options in its ranks.

Besides Wilson's club-best five goals in seven matches, Glenn Murray and Matt Ritchie sit second with two tallies apiece, followed by three others with one.

Bournemouth's 12 goals scored is third-worst in the Premier League, with the Cherries sitting third from bottom on eight points with a league-worst goal differential of negative-13.

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

It may seem trivial to identify an injury as a point of concern for a table-topping side, but Manchester City star striker Sergio Aguero's absence has left gaffer Manuel Pellegrini's cupboard a little bare.

The 27-year-old striker injured his hamstring whilst on Argentinian international duty during a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador in early October, and his absence at the Etihad has made Ivorian attacker Wilfried Bony the focal point of the club's attacks.

With the diminutive goal-scoring machine out of the fold until the end of the international break at best, Bony has scored only two goals in ten league appearances, coupled with young striker Kelechi Iheanacho's one.

Bony left the club's weekend draw with Aston Villa in the first half with a hamstring concern, and Pellegrini opted for pacey winger Raheem Sterling to fill the void up top, highlighting the importance of City's sidelined 26-goal man.

Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)

Among the litany of issues stymieing the defending league champs, Chelsea's star shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois' layoff following surgery on his right knee has had a telling effect on Jose Mourinho's nightmarish Premier League campaign.

The 30-time-capped spindly Belgian international 'keeper hasn't appeared in a match since the Blues' home loss to Crystal Palace on Aug. 29, featuring in only three of the club's first four games, although one of those absences was thanks to a one-match ban from a red card received on opening day.

Chelsea has allowed the third-most goals in the league with 23, behind only the relegation-bound duo of Bournemouth and Sunderland, while second-choice summer signing Asmir Begovic has registered just two league clean sheets, which came against bottom-feeding Aston Villa, and a 10-man Arsenal.

Leighton Baines (Everton)

Unlike the other names on this list, Everton fullback Leighton Baines has yet to make an appearance for his club this season, sidelined long-term following ankle surgery stemming from the Toffees' final preseason match against Watford.

Having just returned to training, his reemergence as Everton's leader and free-kick specialist could not come soon enough, as the Toffees' erratic performances have signaled an urgent need for the skipper's return.

Three months into the Premier League campaign, Everton are the only club not to have scored from a set piece, an oeuvre familiar to the England international. This has been compounded by the fact that only five Toffees players have goals this season, none of whom are defenders.