Wilshere faces England absence

Jack Wilshere looks set to miss England's friendly with Holland a week on Wednesday after suffering an ankle injury in Arsenal's Emirates Cup draw with New York Red Bulls.

Midfielder Wilshere lasted just seven minutes of Sunday afternoon's match before manager Arsene Wenger withdrew him as a precaution. Wenger revealed afterwards that Gunners medics had predicted a week's absence for the 19-year-old, but claimed that would also make him unavailable for England.

"They told me that next week he might be out," said Wenger, whose side's final pre-season friendly is at Benfica on Saturday.

"If he's out next week, he will not play in Benfica, so he will certainly not play for the England game."

Confirming Wilshere had not torn anything but that his ankle was inflamed, Wenger added: "He's a quick healer usually, and a tough boy, so I hope he'll be quicker than the medical prediction."




 

The loss of Wilshere would be another blow to England boss Fabio Capello, who was already without Wilshere's fellow midfielders Steven Gerrard and Theo Walcott for the Holland match at Wembley.

Wilshere looked to have cemented his place in Capello's starting XI at the end of last season, with reports suggesting he had even moved ahead of Frank Lampard in the pecking order.

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