Whether or not the on loan Arsenal and England international midfield star was doing enough to convince Arsene Wenger, or whoever may be the manager of Arsenal at the end of this season, that he deserved to be brought back to the Emirates and given a new contract, we do not know, but we do know that the last thing Jack Wilshere needed was another injury.
What Jack and Arsenal were really looking for this season was for him to rediscover the sort of form that made him one of the most exciting prospects for club and country in many years, but he was only going to do that by staying injury free.
The last five seasons has seen the young Gunner go backwards in all honesty, because a string of injury lay-offs restricted him to just 66 Premier League appearances in five years. We saw the odd flash of the old brilliance, like the two goals that won the EPL goal of the season in successive years, but they were all too few and far between.
Things have been going well for him down at Bournemouth, being a regular starter and a vital player for Eddie Howe, but last night saw the old injury fears rear their ugly head, as an ankle problem saw him hobble off against Man City. Hopefully it will not be that bad, as Metro reports the Bournemouth boss suggesting that it was just a minor knock.
Howe said, ‘Jack is just feeling his ankle. I don’t think there’s a major injury there. He just felt he couldn’t move as freely as he wanted to and had a pain in his ankle, so we took him off.’
We have been here before though, Gooners. I seem to remember that his last lengthy spell on the sidelines began with a supposedly minor ankle problem. Fingers crossed for the lad, of course, because we all want to see a fit and in form Wilshere back on the pitch for Arsenal, but if it is what I fear, could it be the end of him as a Gunner?
Bob.