Arsenal fans will no doubt be delighted with the news that their prodigious midfielder Aaron Ramsey is back in training. It’s been almost 8 months since the 27th of February when a wild tackle from Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross left Ramsey with a career-threatening injury. In physiological terms he fractured the tibia and the fibula of his right leg – yet these terms do little to capture the full horror of Ramsey’s injury. In a very real sense Ramsey’s leg was left shattered. I’m sure everybody saw the pictures of Ramsey holding his leg slightly aloft, his injured foot swinging at an unnatural angle to the rest of his body (for those of you with iron stomachs, click here to see the picture). Seeing that picture again I am reminded how lucky it is that Ramsey is returning at all.
And yet, here he is. Ramsey has undergone an extensive rehabilitation programme and is now back at Arsenal’s London Colney training grounds. Unsurprisingly, Ramsey seems delighted with his progress. “I’ve been doing strengthening exercises and those sorts of things for a long time now and I’m starting to feel the benefits,” he told Arsenal TV Online. “I’m now outside training with the fitness coach and I feel good… I am a very motivated guy and I’ve missed football a lot, it’s made me realise how much it means to me. I just want to get back out there and start doing what I used to do”.
Obviously, it’s important that Ramsey isn’t rushed back into action as any set-backs would have a devastating effect on his career. This won’t stop the Arsenal faithful from salivating over the prospect of their talented young Welshman adding weight to their midfield. But this leads me to wonder; exactly what kind of role will Ramsey play when he returns to the Arsenal fold? For better or worse, things have changed for Arsenal since Ramsey’s injury. He will be returning to a highly competitive central midfield that includes the likes of Cesc Fabregas (who is a staple and will play almost every game he is available for), Diaby (whose stocky-build usually sees him picked against teams that present a physical threat), Denilson (who appears to have fallen out of favour at Arsenal), Alex Song (an essential part of Arsenal’s title challenge and likely to play every game he is available for) and finally, the burgeoning talent of Jack Wilshere.
It’s young Jack that I believe really throws a spanner in the works for Ramsey. Before his injury a string of excellent performances had seen Ramsey rise above Denilson in the pecking order. This meant if the likes of Fabregas, Diaby and Song were for some reason unavailable (or if Diaby was going through a bad phase as he is sometimes prone to do) that Ramsey could expect a game. Now, however, times have changed and if a space in the midfield opens up Wenger will have to choose between Ramsey and Wilshere. A difficult decision at the best of times, but with Wilshere’s meteoric rise through the ranks continuing at lightning pace as he proves himself capable from game to game, you have to feel that it is he who would be picked should such a situation arise.
So where does this leave young Aaron Ramsey? Does Arsenal have room for two prodigious young talents? I don’t picture him as a lad who will be satisfied getting his first-team experience solely in Arsenal’s Carling Cup exploits. Of course, there’s always the chance that Ramsey will put in a series of good performances as a sub, or in the Carling Cup and that this will throw him into contention for more first-team games. However, Ramsey needs game-time to recover his match-fitness and more importantly he will require a consistent challenge week-by-week so that he can rediscover his level. Then there’s always the worry that Ramsey will never be quite the same player he was before his injury. Arsenal fans will remember all too well that their Croatian striker Eduardo (who was moved on to Shakhtar Donetsk last summer) never fully recaptured his best form after returning from his own horrific leg-break. We can only cross our fingers and hope that the talented Welshman recovers his terrific form, whether or not that happens in the red-and-white of Arsenal is another question entirely.
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