Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere must prove his fitness in the next few weeks to keep alive his bid to play for England at Euro 2012.
Wilshere, 20, has been sidelined since the start of the season due to a troublesome ankle injury which needed surgery after it took longer than expected to heal.
Wenger insists there is no chance Wilshere will be able to go the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine unless he has proved he is completely recovered by playing for Arsenal before the end of the current campaign.
And with only seven matches left in Arsenal's Premier League season, the Gunners boss knows time is running out for his young star.
"To go to a big competition without having played at all is impossible," Wenger said on Friday.
"In the next four or five weeks we will know more and the next three weeks will be decisive.
"You would think a player who wants to play in June will have to be competitive at the end of April.
"The next three weeks will decide (if he can go to the Euros).
"We try to keep the hope alive for him and without taking too many risks.
"That means we adapt day to day, to manage him, to improve his physical state and get him fit as quickly as we can without taking too big a risk, which means when he has pain we stop him."
Source: AFP
