Jack Wilshere is not expected to be fit until mid-March, as his recovery from the fractured fibula that has wrecked his season continues to grind on at slow speed.
Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, had previously hoped to welcome back the midfielder towards the end of February but he reported on Friday that Wilshere has only just begun to run outside and will need another six weeks before he is in shape to play.
There is not yet any panic about Wilshere’s prospects of making the European Championship in June but Roy Hodgson, the England manager, would ideally like the players he takes to France for the finals to be fit by the end of March, when his team play friendlies against Germany and Holland.
“Jack is starting to run,” Wenger said. “Once you move out, from the first day, you count six weeks to be competitive and build up stamina and intensity. You need six weeks to be ready fitness-wise.”
Wilshere suffered the injury in training on the eve of the Community Shield and he has not featured all season. He underwent surgery in mid-September because of a slow healing response and it was hoped, at the time, that he would be back by Christmas. Worryingly, the estimates have repeatedly been put back.
