Jordan Clark may have to wear protective mask similar to the one England’s Jed Spence wore in the World Cup this summer, but the Luton midfielder is still some time away from a return after surgery to fix a broken jaw.
The 32-year-old suffered the sickening blow in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Notts County and after lengthy treatment on the Kenilworth Road pitch he was taken to Luton Hospital for an operation.
No timescale has been given for Clark’s return, but Wilshere indicated that the break was in the lower jaw.
Spence, then of Tottenham, broke his jaw in May during a clash with Chelsea’s Liam Delap. The defender, now of Inter Milan, said at the time that it would be three months before he was fully healed. However, he was permitted to wear a carbon fibre jaw guard which allowed him to feature quite prominently for the Three Lions in their run to the World Cup semi-final, which began in early June.
Asked if Clark would have to return to Luton action is a similar mask, Wilshere said: “Yeah, probably. At the moment, he can’t chew food, so he’s probably on a milkshake diet. Jed Spence wore one in the World Cup.”
The manager added: “I’ve spoken to him [Clark]. He’s desperate to be back. He wants to get back already.
“The medical team said, when it happened on the pitch, he was asking to carry on. So that just shows you what type of person he is.
“And he also means a lot to everyone here, not just me, staff, the people that have been with him for a long time. The fans, they love him, they can see how much this club means to him. So, hopefully it won’t be as bad as [we] maybe first thought, but he’ll be out for a period.”
Talking about the immediate aftermath of the head clash that left Clark in a bad way, Wilshere said: “The medical team looked after him really well.”
He added: “When they rush on and they [players] bang their head, you start thinking is he unconscious, has he come back? Is he OK? Has he got concussion? Is there a head injury?
“Then obviously the physio comes off and I had a quick word with him. He’s obviously got a lot of adrenaline. I’ve got a lot of adrenaline the the game. I had a quick word with him and then your mind goes back to the game straight away.
“Half-time, you ask, is he OK? We knew that his jaw was fractured at that point and then, of course, you’re worrying, does he need surgery? What does the surgery look like?
“There was a lot going [through my mind]. And then of course, Jake [Richards] was the first one who got there and you start to think is Jake OK?
“Then it starts to flick recovery. How long he’s going to be out for? I think in a bad situation, probably the best thing came out, but he’s had his surgery. It went well. He’s recovering and let’s see how long that could be.”
Be the first to comment