Arsenal and England will be without injured midfielder Jack Wilshere until November, it has been announced.

Wilshere picked up an ankle injury in June and was thought to have recovered by late July but he limped off after just seven minutes of Arsenal’s Emirates Cup match with New York Red Bulls.

He then suffered a setback in training last month, and was forecast to miss “two or three weeks” by manager Arsene Wenger.

However Wilshere is now expected to be out for at least a further two months.

An Arsenal spokesman told Press Association Sport today: “He will be out for a couple more months, he needs to rest and then we will see where he’s at.”

The 19-year-old is wearing a protective boot to guard the affected right ankle, which Wenger claims was first injured when the youngster was on England duty against Switzerland.

He will now miss crucial matches for club and country, including England’s final Euro 2012 qualifying group game in Montenegro next month, and Champions League and Premier League fixtures with Arsenal.

Wilshere, frustrated to be spending time in the treatment room, is not certain of being back for the start of November.

He suggests it could be as long as three months before he is back in the Arsenal team.

He wrote on Twitter: “I can confirm I will be out for around 2-3 months! I am working hard in the gym to stay fit and I am gutted but I will be back stronger!”

The extended loss of Wilshere comes hot on the heels of Arsenal’s north London Tottenham losing midfielder Rafael van der Vaart to injury for six weeks.