Jack Wilshere recently explained how his injury woes have helped him learn about his body and what it is (and isn’t) capable of.

The midfielder seems to have spent more time on the sidelines than on the pitch over the last few years. Just when we think he’s hitting his stride, he’ll get injured and it’s never just a minor ‘niggle’, it’s always something that keeps him out for the best part of a season. It’s frustrating as a fan so I can’t even imagine how Jack and Arsene Wenger feel.

However, the 24-year-old has drawn one positive from his never-ending spells in the treatment room.

“Last season was a frustrating one,” Wilshere said.

“I did everything in pre-season then I got injured the day before the Community Shield. It was nothing to do with Gabriel, it wasn’t his fault. I took a big touch, and I was overstretching. My foot just moved slightly, and I got a pain down here [points to lower left fibula], and I tried to carry on and that lasted about 15 seconds. Then I had a bit of pain, had a scan, and saw a specialist.

“It wasn’t the worst news, it was going to be six weeks. But it never healed and I ended up having surgery, and that is why it took so long. It seemed like it took forever to heal. To get back to the level of the Premier League is difficult.”

He went on, “I want to avoid that this year,” Wilshere said. “I know my body better than ever now, I know what it can and can’t do. It just can’t go into ridiculous challenges, especially in training.”

“That was the frustrating thing about last year. It wasn’t in the Community Shield, it wasn’t in a big game in the Premier League, it was in a training session before the Community Shield. I went into a tackle that I never should have, and I paid the price. I’ve done that before in the past as well. I know that my body is capable of training a lot, and putting myself through hard sessions and getting fitter. But going into stupid tackles is one thing that I will be avoiding.”

You’d hope that he practices what he preaches and becomes more careful but that remains to be seen. He’s already been ruled out of the Liverpool game thanks to ‘minor’ knee injury after he was only meant to be out for a week. It’s hard to imagine him actually returning on schedule, or at all this calendar year to be honest.