Arsenal Handed Major Injury Boost As Star Declares Himself Fit To Face Palace

Arsenal have been handed a major injury boost after Jack Wilshere declared himself fit to return to the squad for Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace, according to the Evening Standard.

Wilshere has been out for almost three months after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury which he suffered following a hasty challenge from Paddy McNair during our 2-1 defeat to Man Utd back in late November.

The 23-year-old returned to full training earlier this month and was close to being named in the squad for last weeks FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough but Arsene Wenger admitted after the game that he was reluctant to bring him back so soon as he wanted Jack to get at least another full weeks training under his belt before he’d be considered for first team duty.

Wilshere has trained successfully all this week and the Evening Standard are now reporting that the midfielder has declared himself to return for Saturday’s trip to Selhurst Park.

His return has come at a good time as Aaron Ramsey is currently out with a hamstring injury, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is nursing a groin injury while Mikel Arteta is struggling to shake off a calf problem.

However, it remains to be seen whether Wenger will be willing to throw him straight back into action and it’s more than likely that if Jack is named in the squad this weekend, he’ll start on the bench and hope to get some minutes under his belt in the second half.

It’s been another frustrating season for Wilshere that’s been interrupted by injury so I’m sure he’ll be desperate to get back on the pitch to make up for lost time. It’s going to be interesting to see how Wenger plans to use him once Ramsey returns as Santi Cazorla has been excelling in the middle of the park in recent months.

We won’t be able to play Ramsey, Wilshere and Cazorla all together in central midfield, while we’ve also got Mesut Ozil to fit into the equation, so Wenger will have some selection dilemma’s to deal with over the coming weeks.