TWO YEARS AGO, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was forced to be extremely cautious with midfielder Jack Wilshere after the youngster spent much of the previous two seasons in the treatment room.
It all started with an ankle injury he suffered while on international duty with England in June 2011. Shortly after, he suffered a flare-up attempting a comeback with the Gunners and was subsequently sidelined for the remainder of the season.
He finally returned to the Arsenal side in October 2012 but his campaign ended with more fitness issues and he could only start two of his side’s final eleven games of the season.
During the summer of 2013, he went for some minor surgery on his damaged ankle.
But he’s rarely been right since.
Upon his return in August of that year, Wenger had the following to say:
I’m a bit cautious because he’s had a few operations. I don’t want to make a mistake on the medical front and overuse him because the ankle is the most important part of any football player. People think it’s the knee. It’s not, it’s the ankle. All the movements come from the ankle. He’s had surgery three times so we have to be cautious.”
And despite featuring plenty of times for Arsenal since, the 23-year-old’s career is consistently being interrupted with the same injury. Last term, he picked up an ankle injury against Manchester United on 22nd November and didn’t play again until 4th May.
It says much that on the club’s two biggest days in recent years – the FA Cup finals in 2014 and 2015 – Wilshere has been restricted to substitute roles on both occasions.
Most worrying of all is that according to PhysioRoom.com, Wilshere has suffered eleven ankle-related injuries in the last two years.
As a caveat, some of those injuries have been little more than knocks but as Wenger said in 2013, the ankle is crucial to a footballer’s ease of movement and the repeated trauma on the joint does not bode well for Wilshere’s future.
Jack Wilshere’s injury history since July 2013
July 12th 2013 (date reported) – IllnessAugust 27th 2013 – Ankle/foot1st September 2013 – Illness
28th September 2013 – Ankle/foot
22nd October 2013 – Ankle/foot
31st October 2013 – Ankle/foot
15th November 2013 – Calf/shin
29th December 2013 – Ankle/foot
24th January 2014 – Ankle/foot
22nd February 2014 – Hamstring
5th March 2014 – Ankle/foot
16th September 2014 – Ankle/foot
18th October 2014 – Knee
26th October 2014 – Knee
3rd November 2014 – Illness
22nd November 2014 – Ankle/foot
24th February 2015 – Ankle/foot
1st August 2015 – Ankle/foot”
His latest setback will see him ruled out until Christmas, with Arsenal resigned to the fact that surgery is required to properly rectify the issue.
At 23, Wilshere’s injuries are surely a concern. The fact that it’s one particular area of the body that’ seems to be suffering relentless abuse is a worrying factor.
Arsenal will hope another operation can cure the latest problem – a hairline fracture – bit it may be a case of papering over the cracks.
This post was originally published on 5th August 2015. It has been updated to include the latest on Jack Wilshere’s injury situation.
