Top five England injury blows

On Thursday Arsenal announced the blow that Jack Wilshere would be out for at least six weeks with an injury he suffered in England's friendly against Denmark. With the World Cup three months away Wilshere should still be available for the squad, but with recuperation time things could yet be cut fine.

With the Wilshere news in mind, Sports Mole looks back at five injury blows that the Three Lions have suffered in the build-up to international tournaments.

1. David Beckham - 2002

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This was the moment that a nation became aware of the metatarsal bone. In a Champions League game two months before the start of the 2002 World Cup, David Beckham broke this bone in his left foot in a challenge with Aldo Duscher. It was his second metatarsal that he broke - of five in the foot.

An interesting sub-plot for the conspiracy theorists was that Duscher is Argentine, and his nation were in England's group at the tournament. Of course, in the end Beckham played all five of England's matches, which included the penalty in a 1-0 win over said Argentine.

2. Wayne Rooney - 2006

That now infamous bone in the foot reared its ugly head once more at the next World Cup. Beckham was England's key man in 2002 and now in 2006 the mantle had passed to Wayne Rooney. Duscher's tackle on Beckham four years before was crunching, but Paulo Ferreira's on Rooney - this time in very late April - was innocuous.

Yet it left the former Everton player with an uphill battle to be fit for the tournament. It was touch and go right up to the start of England's campaign, but Rooney was deemed fit enough to start the second game of the group. It became clear that he was brought back too early and was unable to produce the same performance he had in 2004 in the European Championships.

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3. Theo Walcott - 2014

Over recent seasons Theo Walcott has reinvented himself as an important member of both the Arsenal and England first teams. He would have been a certain starter for England at the World Cup in Brazil this summer, but instead will be on the sidelines. Walcott damaged ligaments in his knee in January, which has ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Even if he is fit enough to run in the summer, it will take a full pre-season behind him before he can play again. Which will be for Arsenal in August. It is a blow for Roy Hodgson, who will now have to decide on a new starting right-winger for the World Cup.

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4. Ian Wright - 1998

There is a long history of England injuries throughout international tournaments, and it extends further back than this millennium too. In 1998, Ian Wright was one of the most in-form strikers in the English top flight and had just helped Arsenal to their first Premier League title.

However, the season had a sour ending for Wright. He had helped England qualify for the tournament with a strong performance against Italy, but pulled his hamstring at the end of the season, which meant that he was unable to play in France. His loss was Michael Owen's gain, of course, as he introduced himself to the international stage with a solo wonder-goal against Argentina.

5. Gary Neville - 2002

Of course, Beckham's was not the only metatarsal injury in the lead-up to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. His teammate Gary Neville also broke the bone before the tournament, with his the fifth metatarsal. Neville did not play the 2002 tournament at all, and it in fact took him more than five months to return from the fracture.