Arsenal's Jack Wilshere out for three months after surgery

Wilshere suffered the injury during Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at the weekend after being tackled by Paddy McNair.

Wilshere has now gone under the knife and is likely to be out of action until February.

An Arsenal statement read: "Jack Wilshere has had successful surgery on his left ankle and will be out for approximately three months.

"An assessment with a specialist confirmed the need for an operation and the 22-year-old had successful surgery to his ankle in London on Thursday afternoon."

Wilshere has suffered from a number of ankle injuries throughout his Arsenal career to date, and whilst this latest setback will be a blow to the England international and the Gunners, he will hope the surgery puts an end to the recurring issue.

Yet while the long-term prognosis is good, another very long recuperation period will be another big blow for a player who has consistently struggled to avoid spending time in the treatment room.

Most seriously, he missed 17 months of football after breaking his right ankle in 2011.

Wilshere has this season impressed at the base of England’s new diamond formation, although his impact with Arsenal has been less consistent.

This is terrible news for Arsenal, their fans, and of course Wilshere himself. But the idea that there is a positive spin to be on the surgery - i.e. hoping to resolve a long-term problem once and for all - is, sadly, wishful thinking.

Almost all athletes lack something, whether it's talent, dedication, or the ability to handle the pressures of fame and fortune that go with playing at the top of the game. In Wilshere's case, this latest blow is a clear indicator: his physical frailty looks set to doom his career. He would be far from the first footballer to suffer this way - how much greater would the likes of Ledley King or Darren Anderton have been, had they been blessed with more naturally robust bones and ligaments?

And it's not something that we only see in football, either. How many grand slam tennis tournaments would Rafael Nadal have won if he'd stayed at his 2008 or 2010 peaks of form and fitness? How many golf majors would Tiger Woods have won had he not had the knee surgery in 2008 that stalled his career? Where would England's rugby team have been in the last decade had Jonny Wilkinson's fitness not disintegrated after the 2003 World Cup victory?

Let's hope such comparisons prove to be premature and unfair; Wilshere is a huge talent who can still enjoy a long and successful career. But one thing is for sure - something has to change, whether it's in his training or mindset in playing, or he will never show us how good he can be.