Jack Wilshere’s Arsenal future in doubt after suffering broken leg against Tottenham

Blow | Wilshere sustained the injury in the 4-0 defeat at White Hart Lane
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
James Olley19 April 2017

Jack Wilshere’s future at Arsenal is in the balance after suffering a broken leg which leaves him facing a race to be fit for the start of next season.

A scan has confirmed the 25-year-old suffered a hairline fracture in his left fibula after colliding with Harry Kane during Bournemouth’s 4-0 defeat at Tottenham last weekend.

He is expected to cut short his season-long loan on the south coast and return to the Gunners to begin a lengthy rehabilitation programme.

Talks were planned for the end of the season over a new deal and Standard Sport understands Wilshere remains hopeful an agreement can be reached but the club may reconsider its position after yet another major injury setback.

Photo: Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

Wilshere has just over one year remaining on his existing agreement and was told by manager Arsene Wenger at the end of August that he would not be a central part of his first-team plans this season.

Wenger had previously insisted he was keen for Wilshere to stay but this latest blow is devastating for Wilshere, who believed he had finally put his injury nightmares behind him.

In Pictures | Tottenham vs Bournemouth | 15/04/2017

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Wilshere has cracked his left fibula before – in August 2015 – an injury which eventually ruled him out for eight months. He played just three Premier League games before then England manager Roy Hodgson gambled on his fitness by taking him to Euro 2016, where he made three appearances.

Although Wilshere’s loan move to Bournemouth was hastily arranged, it had proved successful given he made 29 appearances totalling 1,949 minutes. Only once – in the 2010-11 season – has Wilshere made more in a single season.

“If you would have told me at the start of the season I would have played 26 to 30 games, I would have taken it,” he said last weekend. “After the last two years I’ve had with injuries, frustrations, all I wanted to do was play.”

In September, he completed 90 minutes for the first time in 771 days and his form was sufficient to earn a recall under Gareth Southgate for England’s November double-header against Scotland and Spain.

However, he was an unused substitute in both matches and Wilshere was targeting a return to Arsenal where he could kick on and re-establish himself in the first team.

Wenger – presuming he stays on as manager – is likely to give Wilshere a chance to prove his fitness but it would be a significant gamble for the club to offer a new long-term contract for a player who has suffered more than 20 injuries in his senior career to date.

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