Walcott out for 3 months after shoulder surgery.
Walcott out for 3 months after shoulder surgery. Arsenal winger Theo Walcott underwent surgery Thursday on his dislocated right shoulder that will keep him out for at least three months.
The Gunners could pursue the English Football Association for compensation after Walcott sustained the injury in training while on international duty earlier this week.
The Premier League club could claim up to 1.1 million pounds ($1.6 million; 1.3 million euros) to compensate for a 12-week absence under the FA’s insurance plan.
“I’m disappointed because he is an important part of the squad, but that could have happened in training here,” manager Arsene Wenger said. “I do not blame the FA for that. It was accidental in training and I accept that.
“In a moment like that you do not think about compensation you think about how you can replace the player.”
Walcott also underwent surgery on his left shoulder in March 2007 and took more than three months to recover.
“Once the surgery is done and it is solid, there is no concern at all for the future of Theo Walcott. Not at all,” Wenger said. “It can take time to use his shoulder again and every little protection of the ball, you need your shoulder. At the start (recovering players) use their body and don’t use their shoulder as much as they should. It takes some time to get used to that.”
The 19-year-old Walcott, who scored a hat trick in England’s 4-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Croatia in September, was injured on Tuesday while training inside Berlin’s Olympic stadium. Without him, England beat Germany 2-1 on Wednesday.
The FA said it is “one of only a handful” of national associations to voluntarily insure players against injury while on international duty.
“Almost all foreign international players who play for English clubs will not have been insured in this way,” English football’s governing body said. “The policy pays up to 50,000 pounds ($74,000; 60,000 euros) per week for the first two weeks out of action through injury and up to a ceiling of 100,000 pounds ($148,000; 119,000 euros) per week after that, to a maximum of 100 weeks. This compensation is paid by the FA’s various insurers, not the FA itself.”
The policy also provides cover for up to 50,000 pounds of medical expenses.
