Jack Wilshere’s season is over after he suffered a fractured leg. Can he come back from the latest in a long line of injuries?
England international Jack Wilshere was injured during Bournemouth’s 4-0 loss at Tottenham last weekend following a challenge with Harry Kane. The 25-year-old’s fibula suffered a hairline crack according to the BBC, meaning that his 2016-17 campaign is over.
The Physioroom website lists his latest injury as the 28th he has suffered during his career, and Transfermarkt states he’s missed a total of 154 games across 904 days spent on the sidelines.
At 25, he should be entering the peak years of his career. Having missed 136 of the 266 league games since the start of the 2010-11 campaign, when he first broke fully into the Arsenal first team, is his career starting to drift away from him?
Arsenal are haunted by injuries
Wilshere certainly doesn’t have to look far afield to find examples of players with similar injury records to his own.
According to Physioroom, Arsenal are frequently at the top end of the Premier League table for days lost to injury. The Gunners lost 1,466 in 2014-15 (the second most in the division) and 1,716 in 2013-14 (the most).
Last season was better on the absence front for Arsenal with 1,137 days lost, but it’s clear Arsene Wenger has issues with keeping his players fit.
Alongside Wilshere’s 28 reported injuries since October 2009, the likes of Theo Walcott (23) and former Gunner Samir Nasri (32) have had a similar number of knocks. A little further back, Robin van Persie suffered 27 injuries during his time at the club.
Will Wilshere come back from this?
There are countless examples of players who either have or haven’t progressed their careers following a horrendous run of injuries.
Daniel Sturridge has surely reached the end of his Liverpool career. The former Chelsea man has suffered a similar number of injuries to Wilshere over the last eight seasons (35) and Jurgen Klopp has moved the Liverpool team on to be a vastly different beast to the side Sturridge joined. The Reds have evolved into a pressing machine in the last 18 months, and Sturridge has been left behind.
Wilshere can take heart from the career of Mousa Dembele, though. Since signing for Fulham at the start of 2010-11, the Belgian has had 41 reported injuries. He’s only missed two league games due to physical issues in this campaign, though, and has grown to become a key cog in the midfield of a Spurs side who have challenged for the league title in both of the last two seasons.
Can Wilshere rebuild his career?
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has said he “would love” Wilshere to remain with the club next season. With the England international out of contract this summer, that seems a likely destination for him.
A return to Arsenal seems unlikely, though he may choose to wait for a bigger fish than Bournemouth. With a World Cup on the horizon, Wilshere may feel he needs to play for a top club. Playing regularly anywhere in the top flight would be a good start.
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Wilshere is often pictured in the tabloids smoking cigarettes or shisha pipes, and many fans suspect he doesn’t do enough to help himself battle back from his injuries. He’s at the crossroads of his career now and needs to respond well to this latest setback.