World NewsWalcott Warning Over Shoulder Injury |
A leading shoulder specialist has warned it may take five months for Theo Walcott to fully recover from his shoulder injury.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed today that Walcott had undergone surgery after dislocating his shoulder while on international duty with England on Tuesday.Initial reports had suggested the 19-year-old would be out for three months, but orthopaedic shoulder and elbow specialist Lars Neumann believes it could be April before the forward returns to action for the Gunners.
"I generally think he can return to contact sport within four or five months," Neumann told PA Sport.
"I am sure he can return to practice in three or four months. Once he gets back into training it will take a few weeks to recover so I would be surprised if he was back in the first team in four months.
"You aim to get these people back into activity as soon as the healing has allowed it. With footballers and their level of physical activity you have to be sure that the injury has totally healed enough before they return to playing.
"You can't rush nature but you can improve his general fitness around the operation."
The injury to Walcott's right shoulder is the latest in a series of problems which have hampered the England man during his short career.
The original problem with his shoulder is thought to stretch back to 2005 when Portsmouth defender Linvoy Primus fell on top of the youngster in a Southampton reserve game.
He then required an operation on his left shoulder in 2007 and had to be carried off during Arsenal's recent game with Stoke after falling on the same shoulder.
Neumann, who has won awards for his treatment of shoulder and elbow injuries, believes the injury will not jeopardise the youngster's future.
"The bone will be put back in place straight away but the ligaments will take time to recover," he said.
"It is not an unusual injury in football and, although it is unfortunate for him, his long-term future is not at risk. He's still only a young man.
"He could suffer from long-term problems such as arthritis in the future but the chances of it affecting him are very very small."
Copyright (c) 2009 Press Association
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