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Wenger on Jack Wilshere's recovery

Jack Wilshere's fitness was a hot topic at Thursday's press conference after it was revealed that the midfielder has fractured his left fibula.

The midfielder - on loan at Bournemouth - is expected to miss the rest of the campaign, but Arsene Wenger is confident he will return during the off-season.

This is what the Arsenal manager said:

on whether he's spoken to Jack Wilshere…

Not recently, no. I've followed the situation closely because he sees a specialist. We think it's a very simple fracture that doesn't need any surgery at all. Hopefully he will be back in July for normal training.

on Jack's mental strength helping him before…

It's a very simple fracture of the fibula. We need patience. Let's hope that all goes well.

on the treatment Jack will receive…

Until the end of the season, he’s a Bournemouth player but we have a good understanding with the medical staff. I had a meeting yesterday with our medical staff to see how we can liaise and whether we have to bring him back. It’s a fracture so there’s not a lot you can do, it’s just about when he can move again. The rehab will certainly be done here because the season will be over. The loan spell ends at the end of the season, so during the break all the rehab will be made here.

on whether he has any doubt over Wilshere reaching his full potential…

No, the doubt is that, as I told you, you need to go on the football pitch and not to worry about being injured. I believe, overall, he had a positive season on that front and that is purely accidental. It was a tackle, I think with [Harry] Kane, that was accidental and could’ve happened even if he had no problem ever before.

on how Wenger felt when he heard of the injury…

Sad because Jack is a great football player with a great football brain. His career has been stopped by many injuries. Today at the top level, the most important thing is the consistency of the presence. When a player’s been out for a while, the game is of such an intensity that it always takes you a while to get your confidence back. A great career doesn’t suffer from stop and go, you have to be consistently present. When you look at all the players who are at the top level in the world like Cristiano Ronaldo, these guys play 50 or 60 games a year. They have the luck of not being stopped by injuries. You’re always sad when a guy of that quality is stopped by problems.

on whether Wilshere had done everything Wenger hoped at Bournemouth…

Yes. Because what was the most important was that we had many midfielders here and he needed to get 30 games. He got that at Bournemouth so of course, on that front it was a positive experience for him.

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