Jack Wilshere is the latest Arsenal star to fall foul of injury in recent weeks, and he isn’t known for his swift recovery time.
The England midfielder was our captain for the encounter with Chelsea yesterday, and he was more than deserving of the Man of the Match award, but unluckily had to limp off the pitch just under an hour into the 90 minutes.
Mohamed Elneny was the man to replace him, and will likely be the name set to continue in the starting XI in his absence, but our numbers are already short, with Aaron Ramsey already ruled out, and Francis Coquelin having been sold to Valencia this week.
Ashley Maitland-Niles could well find himself being shifted to cover the absence in the centre, while Calum Chambers and Alex Iwobi may also be able to be utilised.
Wilshere’s loss will leave us extremely short of creativity in the middle of the park, and the only good news as we await his return is that his new injury is not related to his knee. The 26 year-old has struggled with a number of attempts to return from a knee issue on a number of occasions, and while I don’t believe he is able to recover as quick as some others, hopefully he can be back in the line-up sooner rather than later.
The former Arsenal academy star has been one of our better players since his return, and was being eyed for a key role in the England set-up for the upcoming World Cup in Russia, and his form this season would have been a huge plus for his country.
Should we expect to see Wilshere again this term? Will he need to be nursed back to fitness following this injury? Who could fill the creative hole in midfield in his absence?
Pat J