Few people can argue that the Gunners have missed Jack Wilshere’s presence incredibly over the past year or so and the midfielder will certainly be welcomed back into the first team with open arms. Fortunately, it looks as though fans won’t have to wait too long before they see the 20-year-old back in contention, after the player successfully came through a game for the club’s Under-21 squad on Monday evening.
Wilshere has barely kicked a ball through the last twelve months after suffering an ankle injury and undergoing surgery last year. He was initially sidelined for the first few months of the 2011/12 season following that surgery, but his situation worsened in January this year after he suffered a recurrence of the same injury. This meant he did not play one minute of football through the campaign.
However, it looks as though the England international is slowly returning to full fitness and it won’t be long before he will be considered for selection for the first team. While he did not manage to play a full game for the Under-21 team on Monday, he was still on the field for seventy four minutes and this was a remarkable achievement considering past events. Moreover, the player showed that he certainly hasn’t lost his touch in midfield having played a part in both of the team’s goals as they ran out 2-0 winners over Reading.
Following Wilshere’s performance, Reserve team coach Terry Burton was full of praise for him. He said, “It was a big improvement on his first one in terms of his fitness. He looks to be on the way back to being the player we know he is. We’d always said that we were trying to build on what he had last time, so we’ve achieved that. That’s what these games are about really, to get him his match fitness.”
