Arsenal injury blow: Jack Wilshere return date unknown

Arsene Wenger is still unsure when Jack Wilshere will return from injury, but has confirmed he will miss England's internationals against Lithuania and Italy at the end of this month.

The midfielder made a brief return to the Arsenal squad in February but was forced to undergo further surgery to his ankle.

Wilshere will be missing once again for the Premier League game against West Ham on Saturday and the Arsenal manager cannot put a date on when the influential midfielder will make a return to first-team action.

"I don't know how long it will be before he returns because we have to respect the progression of his training," Wenger said.

"It's very difficult to give you a day today. It's taken a bit longer and I don't really no why at the moment.

"He had a little inflammation of his ankle, so we decided to do it [go ahead with surgery]. We had to rest him anyway, so we decided to get these screws off instead of doing it at the end of the season."

Wenger had better news regarding club captain Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard is now back in full training and is set to return to the squad in three weeks.

The Arsenal manager is also hopeful that the club can agree a new contract with the former Everton midfielder.

He added: "I would like him to stay on, yes. He has a huge experience and is very important in the squad."