Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes it is premature to suggest that Jack Wilshere’s season is over.
Wenger on Friday confirmed reports that Wilshere had suffered a setback in training on Wednesday and said that the midfielder was sent for a scan after complaining of a pain in his foot.
The 20-year-old has yet to feature for Arsenal this season after breaking down in a pre-season friendly against New York Red Bulls. The injury stemmed from overuse in the 2010-11 season, with Wenger quoted at the time as saying he was ‘in the red zone’.
Both Wenger and Wilshere himself were confident that the diminutive midfielder would return in February, possibly in time for the Gunners’ crunch Champions League tie against AC Milan, but his return date has now been pushed back.
Wenger is adamant though that it is too early to rule out his talismanic playmaker for the rest of the season and subsequently for England in the European Championships.
“I feel for him and, of course, he wants to be in the big tournaments,” said Wenger. “I believe as well, he wants to play for Arsenal. He grew up here.”
“Who would want to do that (write off his season)? I don’t want to and he doesn’t want to. But there is no reason either, if he is fit. If we have good news and he can move on, why should we do it?”
“I am really disappointed for him as well, because he is a football animal. I am so sad that, at that age, you have to be out for such a long time with not any obvious reason.”
“If you had have told me that Jack would not have played one game by February I would have said, ‘That’s impossible’.”
Wenger and his medical staff have been eager to push through Wilshere’s return as Arsenal’s season threatens to slip away. They have lost their past three games in the Premier League and Wenger feels that Wilshere’s latest setback may be due to pushing him too hard.
“A stress fracture is a stress fracture,” said the Frenchman. “The repetition of the impact on the ankle was too much. They tell me that 70 per cent of players between 17 and 20 have stress fractures.”
“We push them hard. You want them to be completely at the top when they come back because the intensity of the game is so high that a guy who is not tuned in completely cannot come in and perform.”
“The physical requests are so high so the rehab is much harder than when I played certainly.”
Wenger did reveal that England’s upcoming friendly against the Netherlands at the end of February will be too soon for Wilshere as he steps up his rehabilitation process.
“It’s impossible to play at the end of February,” he said. “Even if we have some good news, I would say that’s impossible.”
“From day one, when you are completely fit to practice again, to be match fit you count at least six weeks.”
There was some good news on the injury front for Arsenal as Bacary Sagna returned to full training this week and could make the squad against Aston Villa in the FA Cup alongside fellow recent absentees Francis Coquelin, Mikel Arteta and Thierry Henry.
