Arsenal v Fenerbahce: Jack Wilshere set to return for Champions League tie but still only at '90 per cent'

The midfielder did not start against Fulham

Jack Wilshere with Arsene Wenger (GETTY IMAGES)

Jack Wilshere will return to the Arsenal team for tonight’s Champions League play-off against Fenerbahce at the Emirates, as his manager, Arsène Wenger, admitted he is still protecting the young midfielder from playing too much.

After two seasons devastated by injury, Wilshere, said Wenger, is still just at “90 per cent”. Wilshere missed all of the 2011-12 season with an ankle injury, returning to the first team in late October 2012 but faded at the end of last season – starting two of the last 11 games – before undergoing more minor ankle surgery in the summer.

“I’m a bit cautious because he’s had a few operations,” said Wenger yesterday, explaining why Wilshere was left on the bench for Arsenal’s 3-1 win at Fulham on Saturday. “I don’t want to make a mistake on the medical front and overuse him because the ankle is the most important part of any football player. People think it’s the knee. It’s not, it’s the ankle. All the movements come from the ankle. He’s had surgery three times so we have to be cautious.

“He was a bit tired but it was more about giving him a rest. It made sense to give him a breather because we’re playing every three days at the moment.”