This week is no different, as Jack Wilshere—who has been having persistent ankle troubles since the summer—has been ruled out until February following his surgery on the ailing tendon.
This comes as quite a blow considering that Wilshere recently said that his return would be around Christmas, some months before his new timetable.
Plus, it is not as if Arsenal only have a couple of isolated injury worries affecting the team.
In addition to losing their best midfielder in Wilshere, they have lost their best defender in Thomas Vermaelen, who is still some weeks away from a return, and another quality midfielder in Abou Diaby.
For a squad that is already stretched thin and fighting for its life, being forced to continue on for months without a key player is a huge loss.
Wilshere's absence delays the formation of a partnership between him and Mikel Arteta. Were the two to gel, this would have provided a much-needed spark and inspired creativity in a squad that sometimes struggles to break down defenses—as shown by a lackluster first-half display against Bolton.
Leaving it until the end of the season would not allow for a practiced tandem to help in the final stages of whatever trophy push the Gunners might be making, whether it be in the Carling Cup or the FA Cup.
At the end of the day, though, we can only hope for Jack to make a quick and full recovery and hope in vain that the usual plague of midseason injuries does not befall us in the absence of our young star.
With the exception of Diaby, of course. It would be foolish to expect him to contribute more to the squad on the pitch than to the medical staff's wages in the training room.
Some players just have different roles to play on a football team.
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