Arsène Wenger faced the media on Thursday and confirmed Jack Wilshere is set for his first appearance since August.
The Arsenal midfielder featured heavily in pre-season before suffering a hairline fracture to his left fibula in training. Eager to help Arsenal’s title bid and be fit for Euro 2016 in the summer, Wilshere has been fighting to come back and the wait is finally over.
After responding well to recent training sessions Wilshere, along with Tomas Rosicky, is ready to return to action and will be tested in the u21 game against Newcastle United u21s on Friday.
“Wilshere and Rosicky will play on Friday night with the under-21s,” Arsène Wenger confirmed on Thursday morning.
Wilshere has made headlines for the wrong reasons this week but Wenger is only interested in what he can offer on the pitch.
“He works very very hard. The news looks quite good and I think he will have a good test tomorrow night.”
The injury was a hugely disappointing one after a solid pre-season and Arsenal have, at times, missed Wilshere this season. No doubt it’s a huge boost to have him back.
“It’s difficult to put a percentage on that but ideally I would’ve loved to have him available for the whole season.”
After playing on Friday night, Wilshere will be assessed but will probably play another game for the u21s before being thrown into first team action.
“We have to see. I’m a bit cautious so let’s not rush it too much, let’s see how he responds to the next game and hopefully he’ll come through well.”