Wilshere returns to action

Jack Wilshere played more than an hour for Arsenal's Under-21 side on his first appearance for 14 months on Monday.

Wilshere lined up in an advanced midfield role against West Brom at the Hawthorns, and there were flashes of the quality which made him a regular for England before foot and ankle problems struck.

One reverse pass to Nico Yennaris might have brought a goal, and there was a moment's concern when he was briefly treated by the physio.

But the 20-year-old was quickly up and given a standing ovation when his planned substitution came 17 minutes into the second half.

Arsene Wenger has promised to take his time with Wilshere, who was forced to abort a previous comeback to have surgery on a separate knee injury.

And England manager Roy Hodgson has been asked to overlook the midfielder for this month's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland.

In another piece of encouraging news for Wenger, Emmanuel Frimpong played 70 minutes of the match at the Hawthorns.

Frimpong, 20, suffered a knee injury while on loan at Wolves in February.

The promising Ghanaian made an 18-minute substitute appearance in the 6-1 win over Coventry last week and Wenger hopes to have him and Wilshere back in contention for the first team soon.