Jack Wilshere has reflected on the start of the decline of his football career, which was marred by injuries that hindered his progress as one of England’s most promising young talents.
Wilshere’s debut for Arsenal came at the age of 16 in September 2008 when he came on as an 84th-minute substitute for Robin van Persie in a match against Blackburn Rovers.
Under the guidance of Arsene Wenger, he was gradually integrated into the squad and showcased his abilities on a global stage by impressively controlling the midfield against renowned players Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez in a Champions League encounter.
According to SportBible, his career soon took a negative turn when he suffered a nasty right ankle injury at the end of the 2010/11 season.
It was the unannounced end of the road for him.
Wilshere reveals his worst injury
At 31, he retired after spending time at West Ham, Bournemouth, and Aarhus in Denmark. He has now opened up on the worst injury of his troubled career.
“My first injury was my worst, and I paid the price a lot for that,” he said on Ben Foster’s Fozcast. “It was my right ankle. It was the talus, which is a little bone that sits on top of your fibula and your ankle joint. And I fractured that.”
He revealed that the surgeon admitted he had only seen such an injury once in a snowboarder, and got in another surgeon to conduct the surgery, but the biggest shock was unknown until six years later.
“I was 19 when the injury happened. Six years later, I was 25 and went back to see the surgeon, and he was like, ‘Are you still playing?’. He showed me the notes from the surgery, and they said: ‘You might not play again. Might not be able to walk’,” he added.
Wilshere is currently building his coaching portfolio as the U-18 coach of the Arsenal academy. He led them to the FA Youth Cup final, which they lost to West Ham United.
Wenger’s tribute to Wilshere
Sports Brief reported that Arsene Wenger gave a glowing tribute to Wilshere when he announced his retirement from professional football last year.
The legendary boss described the former England international as a ‘fearless player’ – an attribute which helped kick start his career early.