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Theo Walcott to miss World Cup with injury

By on January 6, 2014

Arsenal and England winger Theo Walcott’s hopes of playing in his first ever World cup this summer have been cruelly squashed after suffering serious knee ligament damage that will keep him out for at least six months.  Danny Rose’s tackle jarred the Walcott’s knee during Arsenal’s 2-0 FA Cup victory of Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, and although the 24-year-old didn’t seem in agonizing amounts of pain as he departed on the field on a stretcher scans performed on Monday confirmed the extent of the damage was far more than expected.

Walcott will receive surgery to repair the damaged anterior cruciate ligament once the swelling around the bone has receded.  However, the injury will still keep the England international sidelined for the rest of the season, and the 2014 Brazil World cup, for which he was a shoe-in to appear at for England.  As expected, Walcott’s father, Don, stated the obvious in affirming the fact that Walcott is in dismay because of the injury.

“Theo is gutted,” Don told the Sun. “He couldn’t believe it and I think he was still in shock when he told me … He didn’t think it was too bad after the game but it was worse than

everybody thought.”

Yet the injury will not only hurt England and Walcott’s morale, but should most likely force Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to find a replacement for Walcott during the January transfer window.  With Nicklas Bendtner also on the sidelines through injury, reports have flooded in claiming the Gunners’ are preparing a €25 million bid for Bayern Munich’s Mario Mandzukic.

In the meantime many players and fans have sent their well wishes to Walcott, with a satement released on Arsenal’s official website doing likewise, reading: “Everyone at Arsenal wishes Theo a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing him back on a football pitch as soon as possible.”

 

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.