It’s been a difficult year for Jack Wilshere. He’s had to cope with a new-born son, allegations of drug abuse (false), and being injured. But things just got a little easier for him, as the 20-year old midfielder returned to full training with Arsenal today, along with Emmanuel Frimpong.(Link to gallery)

What happened?

The injury nightmare began for Wilshere when he suffered an ankle problem on international duty. He seemed to recover, but it was then aggravated by a dodgy tackle (surprise surprise) during an Emirates Cup game against New York Red Bulls.

At first it seemed innocuous, with the official line being he’d miss training for a few days, which then turned into the start of the season, then he had to have surgery. Arsenal hoped he could return by February. That wasn’t to be either. Jack ended up sitting out the whole season, and the pre-season of this year too. There was even talk that his injury (as well as additional foot and knee injuries) was serious enough to force him to retire at the age of 20.

Thankfully, after horse placenta surgery and a lot of physical training, he was finally ready to return to full training with the team.

Taking it slow

It’s evident that Wilshere is a special player. The ability and poise he showed aged just 19 was astonishing, and he had ball control of a level beyond that of any England international at the time (thanks largely to the Hale End youth system).

With that said, it will likely take some time for him to return to the level he was at before, which is expected to happen. There should be no Aaron Ramsey situation here, the coaching staff have acknowledged he’s “made of different stuff” to most players.

Not only that, but it will be some time still before we see him running out on the Emirates grass. Arsenal are understandably keeping him in cotton wool, and Arsene Wenger has stated that they will see he is doing “after a few sessions” before making any clear decisions on a possible return to action. A few League Cup run-outs seem likely.

Regardless of when he plays, what great news anyway. One of Arsenal’s best players in the 2010/11 season, Wilshere can only improve the quality of an already impressive Arsenal team.

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