The Unusual Case of Jack Wilshere:

After only 11 starts and 2 assists throughout the 2016/17 season, Alan Shearer branded Jack Wilshere's Bournemouth loan as something that "did more harm than good". The move was the perfect opportunity for the Arsenal midfielder to showcase his return to fitness and to form. After suffering his thirteenth injury of his career, pundits, journalists, analysts and the fans are trying to identify exactly what has happened to the man who was dubed the "Savior of English football"  

We can see from the clip above some of the key attributes that Wilshere brings to the England set up. These include a key turn in place, incisive passing, quick feet and link up play which are attributes that many argue he has lost through suffering multiple injuries. Perhaps Wilshere is playing with fear of injury re-occurrence or has been affected by outside influences such as personal factors, there are well documented mistakes that Wilshere has made within his private life. It's worth noting that "personal factors and situational factors serve as background to the entire response to the sport injury and rehabitation process (Cox, 2007, p447). 

Contrast his performances in his early Arsenal and international career level to those at Bournemouth this season and it's clear that Wilshere's role within the central midfield has also changed. Throw back your football minds to perhaps Wilshere's best game against Barcelona where he played in a deeper central midfield role (similar to that of England) where he played with a tenacity, no fear and energy. It may be worth taking a look at the clip below to refresh our minds with the attributes that helped him burst onto the scene. 

Fast forward a fair few seasons and Wilshere finds himself featuring for Bournemouth in a bid to really re-ignite his career following a string of unfortunate injuries. Although, this season at Bournemouth he has been somewhat underwhelming. So why have the midfielder's appearances been limited?

Interestingly, Arsenal and Bournemouth have used doctors to work with Jack Wilshere and Eddie Howe to ensure that his rehabilitation following a serious injury was strong and beneficial. It has been discovered that Wilshere has had a number of overuse injuries (mainly to his ankle) over the years. As a result, Bournemouth introduced an 'acute-chronic training ratio' which was developed by Australian Sports Scientist, Tim Gabbett. This method is designed to regulate Wilshere's training regime and ensure he doesn't receive spikes in 'load' as he continues his rehabilitation.  Bournemouth had to be strict with the Arsenal man in terms of his workload which proved to be a psychological learning curve for someone who has clear passion and energy to return to action.

Returning from injury can be stressful enough and can often bring psychological consequences with it. There is existing research outlining how many footballers are prone to feeling isolated, lose athletic identity, lack confidence and increase in anxiety (Podlog, Dimmock & Miller, 2011; Podlog and Eklund, 2007).  It's possible that some of these effects could have affected Wilshere's performances and it's likely that the use of 'acute-chronic training ratio' will only increase frustration from him coming back from injury. According to research, injury recurrence anxiety usually occurs when the athlete is on the brink of returning from injury. This ideology of  Wilshere being apprehensive of returning to performance could provide explanations as to his gradual decline in some of the physical attributes that have been lacking this season. In the end, this could lead to him being overly-cautious about exerting himself during the game amongst fears that he could encounter a similar instance of when his injury occurred. Although coaches will regularly assess if a player is physically prepared, there is limited understanding as to how mentally prepared a player is to return to action (Murphy & Waddington, 2007).

This all accumulates to a commendable amount of pressure placed on Wilshere who also has had significant pressure from the media, personal life and fans which can again add to the stress and anxiety around his return from injury. According to Bauman (2005) players are under increased pressure to return from injury faster. These pressures may well have contributed to the well known recurrence of Wilshere's overuse injuries. The most recent development is whether Jack Wilshere will sign a new contract and whether he is deserving of a new deal at Arsenal which could create even more pressure for Wilshere.

This was supposed to be a crucial year for Jack Wilshere with a loan move to Bournemouth to attempt to rediscover his form. Questions now remain as to whether we have seen the best from him and essentially whether he can make up for lost time or whether he will inevitably becoming touted as a 'wasted talent'.





Reference List

Bauman, J. (2005). Returning to play: the mind does matter. Clinical journal of sport medicine, 15, 432-435.

Cox R.H., 2007. Sport psychology. 7., internat. ed. ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill

Murphy, P., & Waddington, I. (2007). Are elite athletes exploited?. Sport in Society, 10, 239-255.

Podlog, L., Dimmock, J., & Miller, J. (2011). A review of return to sport concerns following injury rehabilitation: practitioner strategies for enhancing recovery outcomes. Physical Therapy in Sport, 12, 36-42.

Podlog, L., & Eklund, R. C. (2004). Assisting injured athletes with the return to sport transition. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 14,257-259.