Manchester United paid £34m in wages to injured players in just two seasons as Premier League clubs count £120m-a-year cost of sidelined stars

Manchester United paid out nearly £34m in wages to players unable to play because of injury in just two seasons, according to a new study.

The Old Trafford club's squad suffered a total of 84 injuries during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, costing them £33.84m in wages paid to players on the treatment table.

In total, Premier League clubs pay an average of £123.3m in wages to injured players each season, say insurance broker JLT Specialty.

In the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns combined, Arsenal paid £30.6m to injured players, Manchester City £30.2m, Tottenham £19.9m and Liverpool £16.5m.

Injuries to players such as Wayne Rooney cost Manchester United £33.8m in just a couple of seasons

United paid £33.8m in wages to injured players between 2012 and 2014, including Phil Jones (pictured)

Arsenal came second in the injury table, with problems to the likes of Jack Wilshere (pictured) costing them £30.6m in wages between 2012 and 2014

Their research found that Spurs were the team most impacted by injuries in the past four seasons, with their higher-paid players seeming to be most susceptible.

Arsenal were second on that list, followed by Manchester United and Manchester City, though wages are naturally higher at these clubs.

The study also found that United were unluckiest with injuries, with 165 between 2011 and 2015, including 48 last season.

United suffered a grand total of 165 injuries over the last four seasons, including this one to Nani

Theo Walcott was one of 164 injuries suffered by Arsenal over the course of the four seasons

Tottenham were the most impacted club, according to the findings, because of injuries to the likes of defender Jan Vertonghen 

This injury to Mario Balotelli was one of 101 suffered by Liverpool since 2011

Arsenal suffered 164, Spurs 139, Newcastle United 133 and Man City 122. The most fortunate of clubs that spent all four of those seasons in the top flight were Stoke City with 89 injuries.

Defending Premier League champions Chelsea, the study suggests, have been fortunate with injuries, with £8.9m paid out in wages to out-of-action players, a fraction of the wage bill for their title rivals from Manchester and Arsenal.

Duncan Fraser, head of sport at JLT Specialty, said: 'Looking at the winners of the last two Premier League seasons and their injury record compared to their nearest rivals, the importance of keeping players fit is very clear.

'Chelsea and Manchester City have been far more fortunate in this regard than the likes of Man United and Spurs.'

Fraser added that clubs had increasingly looked to take out insurance as a precaution against their highly-paid star players sitting on the sidelines.

Chelsea have been relatively fortunate with injuries compared to their Premier League title rivals

The relative lack of injuries helped Chelsea win the Premier League last season, the study suggests

He said: 'As wages escalate in the top division - partly thanks to the injection of cash into the league from new TV deals - so too does the cost to clubs of injury absences.

'In the 2013-14 season alone, almost £130m was paid out to players who were unable to take to the field due to fitness issues.

'As a result, clubs are increasingly looking to insure their players so that, if they get injured for a prolonged period of time, they can claim a certain percentage of their large salary paid back.

'Depending on the circumstances, this could be up to half of the total injury bill.'