A niggling injury or worry is small but bothers you over a long period of time. Both players have been suffering from niggling injuries. a niggling worry that the cheap car is also the one that will cause endless trouble
Finicky or pottering work; minute and very careful workmanship in drawing, painting, or the like, esp
(informal terms) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "Mickey Mouse regulations"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"
If someone niggles you, they annoy you by continually criticizing you for what you think are small or unimportant things. I don't react anymore when opponents try to niggle me You tend to niggle at your partner, and get hurt when he doesn't hug you. Niggle is also a noun. The life we have built together is more important than any minor niggle either of us might have
If something niggles you, it causes you to worry slightly over a long period of time. I realise now that the things which used to niggle and annoy me just don't really matter It's been niggling at my mind ever since I met Neville in Nice The puzzle niggled away in Arnold's mind. Niggle is also a noun. So why is there a little niggle at the back of my mind?