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Southgate throws Jack Wilshere back into the deep end with England call-up

By on November 8, 2016

Jack Wilshere hasn’t been particularly fantastic so far this season. In ten league appearances since August he has neither scored nor notched an assist, and has been somewhat tentative compared to the boisterous, wave-making sixteen-year-old Wilshere that broke onto the scene eight years ago.

But at least he has been there, playing meaningful minutes on the pitch. That in itself is a massive stride for Wilshere, who has ghosted in and out of the picture since suffering a cracked bone in his lower leg last season, his development having been mired with injuries. Promisingly, he played a full ninety minutes of Premier League football for the first time in over two years in Bournemouth’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur last month and has put together a rare string of starts over the past three weeks.

The English midfielder has seemingly benefitted from a loan move to the South Coast over the summer, which has given him the chance to rehabilitate away from the media spotlight. Whereas the constant media attention pressured him to recover as quickly as possible at Arsenal, he has been able to make slow but steady strides under Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe. Although it has been widely speculated that Wilshere’s loan move signaled the end of his Arsenal career, these past few weeks hint at the possibility of a road back towards the top of the Premier League.

England manager Gareth Southgate certainly appears to think so. Southgate included Wilshere in England’s twenty-five-man squad for their upcoming matches, a World Cup Qualifier against Scotland on Friday and friendly with Spain next week. Although Wilshere is just starting to find his feet with Bournemouth and hasn’t appeared for The Three Lions since their dreadful showing at Euro 2016 where his lagging injuries were all too obvious, Southgate has thrown the twenty-four-year-old back in the deep end.

“Jack Wilshere is a player that we feel has a lot of class and is now starting to get more 90-minutes under his belt,” Southgate said, per the Evening Standard. “It’s good to bring him back into the squad.”

Wilshere, it seems, is eager to return to the international game. For all the months he has been in the training room, pedaling long hours on Arsenal’s spin machines, he is ready to finally start going somewhere. Although some critics have claimed that his talent has dimmed, these next two weeks give him the platform to prove that that he can knock it around with the big boys, provided he can stay injury-free.

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.