Wenger: Injury won’t affect Wilshere contract talks

Arsene Wenger has revealed that Jack Wilshere’s hairline fracture injury won’t affect the club’s stance on his upcoming contract talks.

Wilshere, who is currently on a year-long loan spell with Bournemouth, is set to return to Arsenal in the summer as his contract runs out in 2018. The midfielder’s career has been riddled with injuries, and it is believed he was loaned out in attempt to reinvigorate his career.

Despite the latest setback, Wenger believes Wilshere made a positive contribution in his 35 games for Bournemouth this year.

“[Contract extension] is something different to his injury.” Wenger said. “We haven’t entered negotiations [yet].

“It’s a very simple fracture, you know, of the fibula. [For] that we need patience. Let’s hope it goes well.

“[He will be out] until the end of the season, he’s a player of Bournemouth but we have good understanding. If we have to bring him back, but it’s a fracture so there’s not a lot to do.

“The rehab will certainly be here because his season will be here.”

The 25-year-old has suffered a number of moderate and serious injuries which have ruled him out of the game for a total of 901 days. His most recent fracture is the fourth injury of this type in his career.

Wenger said about how he felt when he heard of latest Wilshere injury: “Sad because Jack is a great footballer, with a great football brain and his career has been stopped by injuries.

“Today at the top the most important thing is consistency. The game is of such intensity, it takes time to find the rhythm.

“Great career doesn’t stop and go. You have to be consistently present. When you look at the top players, they play 50-60 games a year. They have luck [not to get injured].”

Meanwhile Wenger has dodged further questions about his future at the club and has insisted that he is fully focused on the FA Cup semi-final clash against Manchester City on Sunday.

“My commitment is total and only focused on Arsenal. The FA Cup is very important to me. We are focused on that. My future is Sunday.”