Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will require surgery on a hairline fracture in his left leg and is set for several weeks of rehabilitation.
Manager Arsene Wenger stated last week that the 23-year-old England international had suffered a “little setback” in his scheduled recovery from the injury sustained in pre-season training.
However, the decision has now been taken that surgery is required to properly correct the problem and that is likely to take place in the next few days.
“Due to a slow healing response from a fracture suffered in August, the club can confirm that Jack Wilshere is to undergo an operation to his left fibula,” Arsenal confirmed in a statement.
“The decision to intervene has been taken quickly after regular reviews by specialists, who feel that Jack’s scans show that the healing process is not progressing as well as expected.
“Jack will have surgery in London in the forthcoming days. This will involve inserting a small plate in his left fibula. Jack is likely to be out for approximately three months.
“Everyone at the club wishes Jack well with his rehabilitation.”
Wilshere has been plagued by a long line of injury problems during his career and missed five months of last season after sustaining ankle ligament damage in a defeat to Manchester United last November.
It is the fifth consecutive season that Wilshere’s campaign has been disrupted by a spell in the treatment room and his continued absence from the Arsenal first team will come as a major concern for England manager Roy Hodgson ahead of Euro 2016 in France.
The midfielder spent 14 months on the sidelines after sustaining a stress fracture of his right ankle in a pre-season friendly with New York Red Bulls in 2011.
The severity of the injury also saw him miss the beginning of the 2012/13 season, while a hairline fracture of his left foot ruled him out for six weeks of the following campaign.
A challenge from United defender Paddy McNair led to another season interrupted by injury for Wilshere, who returned only for the remaining six matches of the 2014/15 campaign.
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