Arsenal: Jack Wilshere’s Career Breaking Down Before Him

Jack Wilshere has broken his fibula, ruling him out of the rest of the season. The Arsenal midfielder is seeing his career break down before him.

Injuries are horrible. Having suffered two ACL tears and a dislocated shoulder, for which I have had to undertake surgery to fix all three issues, myself, I understand the difficulties that can happen throughout the long and arduous rehabilitation process. Arsenal, as a club, are also acutely aware of the trials and tribulations that come with injuries.

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Throughout the past decade, it is difficult to remember a season during which Arsene Wenger has not seen his plans scuppered by injuries to one or two key members of his starting squad. The likes of Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck have all been forced to miss significant time thanks to their respective injury issues.

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However, perhaps more than any other player in the past few seasons, Jack Wilshere has been the face of players seeing their careers ruined by injuries. Bursting into the Arsenal first team at just 18, Wilshere was thought to be the next, great central midfielder. Now 25, he has yet to enjoy a full season injury free.

And now, he has suffered yet another injury, this time breaking his fibula. The leg break will see him out of action until July, and although it is a relatively simple recovery process compared to the likes of a ligament tear, with his injury track record, it could see him enter next season a long way short of full match fitness. When asked to comment on the injury, Wenger portrayed sadness regarding the struggles his once most prized player has toiled through:

"Sad because Jack is a great football player, with a great football brain and his career has been stopped by injuries. Today at the top the most important thing is consistency. The game is of such intensity it takes time to find the rhythm. Great career doesn’t stop and go. You have to be consistently present. When you look at the top players they play 50-60 games a year. They have the luck."

Wilshere was sent out on loan to Bournemouth for the full season to aid in his quest to return to full fitness. He has, for much of the season, been available for selection for Eddie Howe’s team. But now, as he enters the final year of his Arsenal contract, he must suffer through a summer of rehab once again.

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Wilshere, for all his qualities, simply cannot get and stay fit. His career is breaking down before his very eyes. There’s little he can do about it and it’s all incredibly sad. I wish him a speedy recovery.