It might sound wrong to say that the Arsenal and England star Jack Wilshere will make an early return to the Arsenal side, because when he suffered that training ground accident and broke his foot just before the start of the current campaign we did not expect him to be out of action for the whole season.
But as it always seems to be with Jack, the road to recovery has been a long and frustrating one and just recently Arsene Wenger and his England boss Roy Hodgson have been talking as though the chances of Wilshere playing for Arsenal before the summer were touch and go.
According to the Daily Star though, the midfielder is well ahead of that on the comeback trail and is set to kick his first ball in anger this week. Jack will not be in the matchday squad for the trip to West Ham as he needs to build some form and increase his fitness, but he is set to make the next step towards a first team return by playing for the Arsenal under 21 side against Newcastle at the Emirates on Friday.
If all goes well there will probably be at least one more match for the reserves before Wilshere is considered for the senior side but assuming that he does not suffer a setback, we could well be seeing Jack back at some point this month. And after the latest off the pitch controversy involving a fracas outside a nightclub he really needs to impress on the pitch. So could Wilshere’s early return be a timely boost as the Gunners chase an unlikely title comeback?