Wednesday, November 19, 2008

ENGLAND and Arsenal have been stunned by a freak injury to Theo Walcott which could keep him out for three months. By IAN McGARRY [THE SUN]

photo;Reuters>
Winger Walcott dislocated his right shoulder at the end of the England training session in Berlin last night.
The 19-year-old was challenged by Scott Parker and went down on the wet pitch. He was rushed to hospital in the German capital where his shoulder was put back in place.
Walcott, who has just returned from injuring the same shoulder against Stoke, would have started tonight’s friendly for England against Germany but instead was due to fly home to have his injury assessed for immediate surgery.
Shaun Wright-Phillips will replace him but England boss Fabio Capello hopes he will recover quickly.
Capello said: “Our priority is Theo and making him as comfortable as possible before he returns to England.
“We’re all very disappointed but the most important thing is for Theo to travel home and make a quick recovery.”
It is another blow for Capello, who had already seen a string of his first-choice players ruled out of tonight’s Berlin match by injury.
But it is Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who will be most disappointed since it looks likely Walcott will be out for a crucial period in the Gunners’ faltering Premier League campaign.



Ironically, Wenger is one of the few Premier League bosses who has not made any bones about allowing his players to travel for international duty.

Walcott has already had the same problem in his left shoulder and had an operation to resolve that problem 15 months ago. He is hopeful he will return in time for the knockout phase of the Champions League, which starts in February.

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