England and Bournemouth central midfielder Jack Wilshere will miss the rest of the season and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines according to Sky Sports.
The midfielder sustained a crack in his left fibula playing for Bournemouth against Tottenham on Saturday in a 4-0 defeat.
The injury is just the latest in a long line of problems in Wilshere’s injury-plagued career thus far.
Not lived up to his potential
When Jack Wilshere first broke into the Arsenal team at 16 he was hailed as a future world-class talent. Maybe that was just typical of the British media bigging up the star, just so he could get knocked down as soon as he made a mistake.
Wilshere did have potential in his younger years. He seemed to have the potential to be a good player. You only had to watch the England international play to know that he could play. However, his career seems to have been in stasis for the last nine years.
He has not improved that greatly as a player and was farmed out to Bournemouth on loan for this season, where he has made 27 appearances. Wilshere is regarded as a creative midfielder, yet the midfielder failed to score for the Cherries and produced just two assists.
Bournemouth are not a terrible team, but the loan spell was supposed to give Wilshere the platform to fulfil some of his potential. Instead, he has failed to really make a big splash on the south coast.
Injuries just keep marring his career
One major factor that has hampered Jack Wilshere is the fact that he tends to pick up so many injuries. He missed most of last season with a broken leg and he has consistently been injured throughout his career.
During his Arsenal career every time he came back from injury, Gunners fans would get temporarily excited. However, most knew it was always only going to be a short return to action before he was sidelined again through injury. It has been quite surprising that Wilshere has taken this long to pick up an injury at Bournemouth.
One of the main aims of going to Bournemouth on loan was to prove that he could stay clear of injury. That meant a sustained run in the team, which he achieved before a challenge with Harry Kane ended his campaign abruptly.
The injuries must have affected the midfielder both physically and mentally. Constantly picking up injuries must be absolutely horrendous for the midfielder.
However, with it happening so often there have been question marks over his style of play and how he plays the game.
Future at Arsenal in doubt
Wilshere’s current team Bournemouth are odds of 66/1 to be relegated this season. Even without the midfielder, the Cherries should have enough points and quality to survive this season in the top-flight.
Wilshere’s future is far more uncertain. The England midfielder was due to open contract talks with parent club Arsenal, as his contract expires this summer. How the injury affects those contract talks remains to be seen.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is a known admirer of the Wilshere. However, the Frenchman is the one who allowed the 25-year-old to leave for Bournemouth on a temporary basis.
Wilshere had proven his fitness at the south coast club. His performances for Eddie Howe’s side were not exactly sparkling, though. If he had been a normal Bournemouth player, he would not have even been on Arsenal’s radar.
The midfielder is 25-years old and can no longer live off his potential. It seems unlikely that he has a long-term future at Arsenal. He has not done enough at Bournemouth to prove he should be first choice in the centre of Arsenal’s midfield.
It would not surprise me if Wilshere was handed a short-term deal by Arsenal, as he recovers from his latest injury setback. For me, Jack Wilshere will never live up to the early hype of his career. It’s such a shame, as the midfielder seemed to have so much potential.
