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Wenger Reveals Double Injury Boost + Worrying Wilshere Update

By on March 13, 2015

Mathieu Flamini

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed a double injury boost while he’s also given a worrying update on the fitness of Jack Wilshere.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning, the boss revealed that Mathieu Flamini is now fit and available for selection against the Hammers tomorrow.

Flamini has been out for the last four weeks with a hamstring injury but he returned to training last week and could now feature against Sam Allardyce’s men at the Emirates.

Arsene also confirmed that Gabriel Paulista will be back in full training on Sunday. The Brazilian suffered a hamstring problem against QPR at the start of the month and was initially expected to be out for at least 3 weeks.

However, he’s recovered quicker than expected and while I don’t think we’ll see him involved against Monaco in midweek, he should be back in the squad to face Newcastle next Saturday.

The final update from Wenger concerned Jack Wilshere and worryingly the boss says he still doesn’t know when he’ll be available again and ruled him out of England’s international games at the end of the month.

Jack has been out since November due to an ankle injury and his recovery suffered a set-back when he needed minor surgery late last month to remove two buttons that were causing him discomfort in his ankle.

At the time, Wenger said the procedure would only see Wilshere out for a matter of days but here we are two weeks later and he’s still not back in training and there’s no word on when he’ll return.

Based on the fact Arsene says he won’t be ready for England duty, then we can safely assume the midfielder won’t feature for Arsenal until after the international break which takes us into April.

I said after his surgery last month that I hoped this wouldn’t drag out to be another injury saga but sadly that seems to be the case. Hopefully Jack can get back in training soon as the season is slipping away and he’s endured another injury-plagued campaign.

The news on Wilshere comes after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was also ruled out for a month with a hamstring injury, so both players will be out for at least the next three games.

Here’s what the boss told Arsenal.com:

on Jack Wilshere…

I don’t know how long it will be before he returns because we have to respect the progression of his training.

on England squad announcement…

It’s coming too soon for Jack Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

on Flamini and Gabriel…

Flamini is back in the group today and available for selection. Gabriel should be back on Sunday.

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