ARSENAL AND ENGLAND midfielder Jack Wilshere will be sidelined for at least six weeks after sustaining a hairline fracture to his left foot, the Premier League club announced today.
The 22-year-old central midfielder, who has a history of injury problems, picked up the fracture in a 50-50 challenge with Daniel Agger in the early stages of England’s 1-0 friendly win over Denmark on Wednesday.
After collapsing to the ground in apparent agony and receiving treatment from England’s medical staff, he was able to continue playing until being substituted in the 59th minute.
Both England manager Roy Hodgson and Wilshere himself claimed after the game that his foot was only “bruised”, but further scans revealed the full extent of the injury.
“Jack Wilshere has sustained a hairline fracture to the navicular bone in his left foot,” read a statement on the Arsenal website. ”Wilshere suffered the injury during England’s international match with Denmark on Wednesday night at Wembley Stadium, in which he played 59 minutes.
“Following initial scans carried out by the FA (Football Association) on Wednesday night, further investigation by Arsenal’s medical team has discovered a crack to a small bone in Jack’s left foot — the navicular, an area of his foot which has not been previously injured.
“Jack will now require a period of approximately six weeks’ rehabilitation, before starting to regain his match fitness.”
News of Wilshere’s injury arrives at an untimely juncture for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side are competing for honours on three fronts and host Everton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
They then visit Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week, when they will seek to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg of their last 16 tie.
As well as those games, Wilshere stands to miss key Premier League matches against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City later this month.
However, the initial prognosis suggests that his chances of playing at the World Cup in Brazil are not at risk, with Hodgson due to name his 23-man squad for the tournament on May 13.
Arsenal have already seen one of their England players succumb to a season-ending injury, with winger Theo Walcott having been ruled out of the World Cup after damaging knee ligaments in January.
I’m always hearing about this guy ranting on the court. I’ve come to the conclusion that I think he may have some serious mental health problems, and needs to get some help.
@The Upside-down Triangle: could be just a tool
@Adam Newman: bit of both I think.
W@nker
Waster he is
Was the ball actually out?
To be fair, sometimes you just have to call out a bad hat.
@Richard O’Brien: not while wearing that outfit!
An awful gimp of a chap
He’s correct about the hat. Is he also correct about the out decision?
He may be an awful eejit but he draws some huge crowds and easily one of the most entertaining players on tour, shame he’ll never make the most of his potential
Remember the crowds flocked to McEnroe matches more to witness the rants than his ability
@Noel Lynn: McEnroe on his worst day was never as bad as this headcase. He’s toxic and disruptive and previous disciplinaries have done nothing. He should be kicked off the tour for a season and be made prove himself with a clean record for another couple of years after. No player or official should have to put up with a second of his cr@p.