When I was young, I witnessed my younger brother suffer an ankle injury that saw him use clutches for a couple of months. It was even more saddening to know that he suffered the injury while playing for his school team, and I doubt if any scouts were even watching. I can vividly remember the excruciating and agonizing pains he suffered when the ankle hit somewhere but after undergoing therapy, he did well to fix up the ankle… then he went back to playing football again…
When Jack Wilshere suffered the same fate following a collision with Chris Smalling, I was deeply concerned for the lad especially after seeing him signal to the bench showing that all wasn’t well. But as the fighter he is, he stayed on the pitch for a couple of minutes before the manager replaced him. Yes, many Arsenal fans would be right to be unhappy at his horrendous miss, especially when Alexis Sanchez was clearly unmarked but Wilshere’s health should be a key concern for everyone connected with the club because he has been one of the bright sparks of a relatively dark season.
He has had his frustrating moments as well as his good ones but Wilshere is one player that would give you 110% in every game. He needs to work on his temperament because he could easily have seen red for his head butt on Marouane Fellaini but in the heat of the moment, you should expect such a player to keep his cool. If he attempted the same nudge on a bloke like Sergio Busquets for instance, I’m sure you all know what would have happened next.
For starters, Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Wilshere has a ‘little chance’ of playing against Borussia Dortmund tomorrow and he also raised his doubts on Wojciech Szczesny’s participation as well. According to the Telegraph, their injuries aren’t long-term as well. Thank goodness. Wilshere had an initial scan after the game and it was revealed that he didn’t suffer any major injury and he was seen leaving the Emirates without any crutches or protective footwear. However, the initial prognosis seems to be a soft tissue ankle sprain but it’s stated that his ankle will be accessed again when the swelling subsides.
Wilshere is a player that has had his fair share of injuries worries and many Arsenal fans can also remember how he missed out on the beautiful game for the best part of 14 months following a stress fracture to this ankle in the Emirates Cup clash against Boca Juniors. Even if he returns from injury, his current style of play would still make him a target for some rash challenges that will only end injuring him yet again. Wilshere tends to dwell on the ball far too long at Arsenal but when he’s donning the White of England, he’s a completely different beast. With four consecutive Man of the Match awards for the National team, Wilshere has been on the spotlight for all the right reasons and in England’s last game against Scotland, he provided a neat assist for his fellow Gunner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Szczesny on the other hand, looked very uncomfortable following his clash with Kieran Gibbs and it was in his best interests to replace him with the inexperienced lad, Emiliano Martinez. The young goalie might have done better not to commit himself when he came off his line to challenge Wayne Rooney but the real question we should be asking is where the f*ck did Per Mertesacker go? What was he thinking allowing Nacho Monreal, a make-shift center back, to be all on his own against the Angel and Shrek?
Szczesny has a high chance on missing the all-important clash against Dortmund and with David Ospina still injured, Martinez maybe on the cards to make another Champions League appearance. Let’s just hope that he’d be offered better protection from those in front of him.
I’d keep you posted on their injury updates as the days go by.
Sayonara.
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