Arsenal's 20 year-old midfielder Jack Wilshere had the worst possible start to his season, after being told during the clubs pre-season schedule that he will be out for at least the first half of the competitive season requiring surgery to correct a stress fracture in his right ankle.
Four months on, and Arsenal have been given a major boost with news that Jack Wilshere is thankfully close to a return from his unfortunate injury. The Arsenal medical team are hoping to have the English midfielder back in first team training later this month or early in February, meaning he will be available for Arsenal's push for the top four in the League and progression in Europe during the second half of the season.
His rehabilitation process will of course include at least a few weeks of training to get back to match fitness and regain his footballing sharpness, so he will obviously not be thrown into first team action immediately but will rather be slowly introduced back into the side in stages. Wenger will be hoping that Wilshere is available for Arsenal's clash with Blackburn on February 4th or Sunderland a week later with the possibility of playing a part in the clubs first leg Champions League second round game against AC Milan on the 15th.
Arsenal cannot afford to take anymore risks with Wilshere's fitness, as it is likely that Wenger overplaying the youngster last season caused the players stress fracture. The problem is caused by "unusual or repeated stress" and also heavy continuous weight on the ankle or leg - in Wilshere's case, the ankle. Wilshere's "stress fracture" will not have appeared suddenly, but over time through repeated traumas, which when added together, week in, week out of playing football, were enough to cause severe pain to the ankle.
He appeared in an amazing 49 games last season in all competitions, which shows the importance of the young midfielder. His aggressive style of play, combined with his excellent vision and ability to find a pass and link up play from defence to attack has been missed at Arsenal, and his return will be hugely welcome on the back of two successive disappointing results against Fulham and Swansea.
Arsenal face Manchester United on Sunday, and on the back of a loss to newly promoted Swansea, Wenger has called on his side to "wake up" and "be focused" as they hope to exact at least some revenge on the side which hit eight past them at Old Trafford earlier in the season. The Arsenal manager said:
"It is a massive opportunity [next Sunday] because you feel we have given six points away in the last two games in a way that is unbelievable. It is time for us to wake up and be focused."A huge problem which was apparent against both Fulham and Swansea was Arsenal's defensive frailties. Having scored an equalizer through Theo Walcott, the side then conceded seconds later thanks to a severe lack of focus and naivety at the back. They cannot afford that against Manchester United, and will hope to avoid mistakes with key defenders such as Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna hopeful of a return.
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