In the recent friendly against Crystal Palace, it was reported that Jack Wilshere looked concerned about his groin although luckily he avoided an injury, but he is certainly no stranger to the treatment room. Throughout his career, he has been blighted by injuries, after his first impressive full season with Arsenal back in 2010/2011. That season he made 35 appearances in the Premier League and looked destined for greatness. Arsenal were keen to ensure he would be staying at the club for as long as possible, knowing that they had a real talent on their hands. However, his 2011/2012 season was completely written off by injuries as he required ankle surgery and failed to make a single appearance.
Injury-plagued time at Arsenal
His next three seasons saw him feature more regularly but he never managed to string together many games before he suffered another injury. He has been prone to numerous ankle injuries and then in 2015/2016 he got a hairline fracture, keeping him out most of the season and the exact same injury occurred again in 2017 when he was playing on loan at Bournemouth. Arsenal were happy for Wilshere to move on, given that he only managed 125 appearances over a decade of being with the club.
His injury record is worse than 'Sicknote' Anderton's
Since moving to the Hammers, his luck hasn't improved much as he managed just 8 appearances in his first season and has spent most of this season on the sidelines too, with a groin injury. There are few players that can claim to be as unlucky as Wilshere, although fellow England players Andy Carroll, Kieron Dyer and Jamie Redknapp all had their careers hampered by frequent injuries. Darren Anderton's nickname was 'Sicknote' due to his list of injuries but he still didn't get close to Wilshere's injury record. Now aged 28, Wilshere could still have a handful of seasons left to try and turn his fortunes around. Hopefully he will avoid going down the same route as injury-prone players like Michael Owen, Owen Hargreaves and Jonathan Woodgate who retired earlier than they might have liked to, due to persistent injuries.
A gamble signing for West Ham
West Ham need a fully fit Jack Wilshere to help in the relegation battle and currently Premier League betting odds are just edging the Hammers as favourites to stay up out of the bottom four clubs, with Norwich, Villa and Bournemouth favourites for relegation. A lot can change over the remaining games and we need some good performances to make sure we guarantee Premier League football next season. Manuel Pellegrini took a giant gamble when he offered Wilshere a three-year deal, given that his injury record was so bad. It isrumoured that he is on £100,000 a week, which the hierarchy won't be too pleased about paying for a player that rarely features.
If Wilshere can stay fit and get into top form to steer the Hammers clear of the relegation zone, that signing suddenly won't seem like such a gamble any more, but his is a path well trodden! - Ed
