Theo Walcott was just 17 years and 75 days old when he became England’s youngest ever senior player, but his first World Cup appearance will have to wait until he is 28 years old! In the third round of the FA cup last weekend, Walcott was stretchered off in the 2-0 win over London rivals Tottenham with a knee injury that didn’t look too serious at first glance. In fact, manager Arsène Wenger predicted a short four-week layoff after the match, but scans on Monday confirmed Walcott had suffered serious knee ligament damage which rules him out for the rest of the season as well as the World Cup in Brazil
Theo Walcott has been ruled out for the rest of the season
At 24 years old, Walcott is coming of age and showing great game intelligence. After recovering from an abdominal injury early in the season, Walcott has scored five goals in six starts recently, helping to relieve the burden on their main striker Olivier Giroud. With such a goal spree, Walcott would certainly have been a key player in the World Cup, but sadly his dream is already over.
The World Cup has proved a bad omen for Walcott. Former England manager Sven Eriksson selected him for the 2006 World Cup but didn’t use him for a single minute during the tournament. Four years later, Fabio Capello surprisingly discarded Walcott from his 23-man squad even though he played a crucial part in the qualification. This year, Walcott will miss the tournament for the third time through injury, a huge blow to the ambitious young striker.
Wenger is in desperate need for new strikers
Even the 2-0 win over Tottenham couldn’t make up for Wenger’s loss. With only one striker in Olivier Giroud given both Nicklas Bendtner and Alex Chamberlain are injured, the Gunners are desperate for new attacking blood. Arsenal now leads the league by one point from Manchester City. This season may represent their best chance to claim the title but only if they can attract new strikers in the transfer window to maintain the momentum.
