Wenger – Wilshere On Course For April Return

Arsene Wenger has given a very positive update on Jack Wilshere’s injury recovery, claiming the midfielder is on course to return to action before the end of the season.

The 20-year-old has missed the entire campaign so far with a serious ankle injury, and was unlucky to have a couple of set backs on his road to recovery.

But now the boss has told Arsenal.com that Wilshere is finally closing in on a first team comeback and if all goes to plan, he will join in full training in around 3 weeks time. It will then just be a case of gaining full fitness, which Arsene believes will take a further 2 weeks.

Going by those timescales, there is a slim chance Wilshere could feature for the crunch game against Chelsea at the Emirates on the 21st April, but it’s more likely he’ll play against Stoke on the 28th. Although i’ll be honest, Stoke City away isn’t exactly the ideal game for him to make his comeback in, is it?! I could think of better suited opposition than them, that’s for sure.

But the positive news is we could have Wilshere back for the final few games of the season to help our push to secure third place. Here is what Arsene told Arsenal.com about Wilshere’s return:

“Wilshere is back with the ball and for us that is a huge step,” he said. “The work we do with the ball is always quite demanding.

“Today we can say if all goes well now in three weeks he will be back with the squad. Then another two weeks to get fit. I don’t have to hold him back yet because at the moment he suffers a lot for fitness. But after three weeks we’ll have to.

“I think he will play this season if he has no setbacks now. His last scan was positive, so he should be capable to play.”

Wenger also confirmed that as long as Jack makes a successful return to action for Arsenal before the end of the season, there is no reason he shouldn’t go to the Euro’s with England:

“That’s a decision fortunately I don’t have to make,” he said. “I will only intervene if I believe medically he is at risk.

“He is an England player and if he has played some games before the end of the season it is a possibility [for him to go to Euro 2012]. If he has not played at all before the end of the season I don’t think it’s realistic.

“The next three weeks will decide how well he progresses. We have gone for a very cautious attitude with him. We will not force him into training with any pain. So we might have to be slower than expected. If all goes well he will be back in full training in three weeks. But that is not sure yet.”

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