Arsene Wenger has said he will gradually rebuild Jack Wilshere’s fitness with lower intensity games before he’ll get more minutes in the Premier League.

Wilshere played 90 minutes in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Doncaster on Wednesday. It was his first start for the club in over a year and a big step forwards towards achieving full fitness again after fracturing his leg playing for Bournemouth against Tottenham Hotspur.

Wenger saw the Doncaster game as an opportunity to give Wilshere fitness and confidence, and plans to gradually build him up from there.

“I wanted to leave him on to give him 90 minutes and overall I think it was an ideal game for him tonight to gain confidence and fitness,” he said, reports the Daily Mail. “We’ll see after that how he will respond, normally he’s alright after the game.

“I think you have to put this game into perspective as well – it has not exactly the intensity of a Premier League game, but it’s important for him to build him up gradually.” The match on Wednesday was played at a slow tempo, in my opinion, and didn’t see many robust challenges go in.

Due to that, it wasn’t a true test of Wilshere fitness. He usually needs a few tackles aimed at his ankles before we know if he’s really fit or not. Ahead of the Doncaster game, the 25-year-old played three games for the u23s and appeared a late substitute against Cologne in the Europa League.

I believe he will make his next appearance when Arsenal travel to Belarus to play BATE Borisov next Thursday. Should he perform well and remain fit, there’s a chance he could soon make the bench for a Premier League game.