Jack Wilshere could face ankle surgery and be out for up to FOUR months after Arsenal star's injury in Manchester United defeat

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Arsenal fear Jack Wilshere will need ankle surgery, which could rule him out for up to four months.

The England midfielder limped off during Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United on Saturday after a challenge by Paddy McNair.

Wilshere, 22, left the Emirates without crutches, raising hopes that the injury might not be serious, but he in fact suffered ligament damage to his left ankle. He will have a further assessment on Thursday when he is due to see an ankle specialist. Surgery would probably sideline him until March, but even without an operation he will miss up to three months.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Arsene Wenger: Wilshere and Welbeck out of Dortmund clash 

Jack Wilshere could be out for up to four months after damaging his left ankle on Saturday

Wilshere (left) suffered ankle ligament damage following Manchester United's Paddy McNair's tackle

Perhaps the only positive from Wilshere’s latest injury is that it did not occur on his already troublesome right ankle. ‘It does not look good,’ admitted Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

‘There is no bone damage but there is ligament damage. It is just how [long] it is, which we should know next week.

‘It is so sad because he just came back and had found his mobility. I hope it will not be surgery, just in a boot, but it will be a few weeks.’

Wenger, speaking as he planned for Wednesday's Champions League clash at home to Borussia Dortmund, was unhappy with McNair’s challenge but refused to criticise the United youngster.

The challenge left Wilshere on the pitch in agony as he now faces the possibility of undergoing surgery

The 22-year-old's (bottom) injury adds to a miserable run of luck for the Gunners

The Arsenal manager said: ‘The tackle caught him from the side, just when he had moved the ball a bit forwards too much. Then, when he dived to make the pass, McNair came in to make the tackle and took him from the back and the side.

‘When you see the picture, it is very bad. I don’t think it was a tackle with the desire to hurt. I think he went for the ball, but it was a late tackle; a tackle which a young player can do. It was a bad foul.’

Wilshere’s stricken state heaps misery on a terrible few weeks for Arsenal. They fell to two successive Premier League defeats and let slip a 3-0 lead against Anderlecht in their previous Champions League game to draw. The discontent caused by their worst start to a Premier League season was underlined this week by the club’s second largest shareholder, Alisher Usmanov.

Usmanov aimed stinging criticism at Wenger’s team, and also claimed the manager is not learning from his mistakes.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been criticised by the club’s second largest shareholder, Alisher Usmanov

Wenger, who was chirpy at Tuesday’s press conference despite his side’s troubles, responded robustly to Usmanov’s comments, saying: ‘We have values at this club. The first one is when we go through a difficult patch, we show solidarity.

‘That is a very important one. The second one is that when you have something to say to each other, we say it face to face. We don’t need to go to the newspapers. When you’re from this club, you’re from this club. You’re in or out, you cannot be both.

‘What is important is how close we are together inside the club and how much we can respond to people who question our quality.’

Wenger insisted: ‘I believe that this group of players will have a very strong season. I’m ready to bet with you on that. I’m long enough in the game to know if there’s something there or not.

Wenger was accused of 'not learning from his mistakes' after the club's successive Premier League defeats

‘There’s a lot there. It is one of the best teams I’ve had for a long time. We are the team who has the least shots against us in the Premier League.

‘We are the team who creates most chances. There’s a lot of positives but, at the end of the day, you either win or lose. It depends on very little things sometimes.

‘When you are so long in football, you don’t really understand what crisis means. I best get to the dictionary.

‘I believe in what I do and I believe especially in my players. I question myself every day and I hope you do that as well.’

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey (right) has hailed the club's team-spirit despite their poor form

Midfielder Aaron Ramsey backed his manager, saying: ‘We believe in ourselves, we have a great team spirit and we are not too concerned with what is being said about us. We know all about what we are capable of doing. It is just some fine-tuning.’

Arsenal’s defence has been heavily criticised in recent weeks, while Wenger admitted on Saturday that his side’s back four have shown naivety in recent encounters.

Laurent Koscielny could make his first appearance in two months after recovering from an Achilles injury. However, Theo Walcott is still suffering from the groin problem that kept him out of Saturday evening’s defeat by United.

Danny Welbeck is a doubt for Wednesday after missing training on Tuesday with a knee problem. Yaya Sanogo is on stand-by to replace him. Olivier Giroud is ineligible after being left out of Arsenal’s Champions League squad.

He was originally expected to miss all the group matches because of a broken leg.

Defender Laurent Koscielny could make his first appearance in two months after an Achilles injury