Fresh injury blow for Jack Wilshere as West Ham midfielder suffers ankle setback

Jack Wilshere has suffered a further setback in his bid to return to fitness for West Ham.

The former Arsenal man, long plagued by injury, underwent surgery on his ankle after a screw from a previous operation had come loose and caused pain.

The 26-year-old was set to return to first team action over the next week, however, following inflammation around the ankle, is set to remain sidelined until at least November, though doctors are not overly concerned by the delay.

Speaking ahead of the London derby with Tottenham this weekend, manager Manuel Pellegrini said: “Jack felt some pain the last two days here so he needs more time to recover.”

The Chilean also revealed that he will be able to call on a fit-again Andy Carroll in just over a fortnight, meaning he could make his return from a pre-season ankle injury against Burnley next month.

“Andy is recovering,” Pellegrini said. “He started this week working, part of the warm up with the whole squad so we will see in the next week how he improves and I hope that maximum 15 days he will at least be working with the squad, completely.”

Marko Arnautovic remains available having returned early from international duty, though Pellegrini admits they must be careful when it comes to managing the Austrian’s knee issue while Arthur Masuaku is training having also suffered a minor problem while away with DR Congo. The full-back will be assessed ahead of the game at London Stadium.