Talking Sport: Mystery of injuries for England players

No sooner had England played a couple of matches than Jack Wilshere and Luke Shaw were ruled out for several weeks - again.

When you think that Theo Walcott has been out for some time and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given only 12 minutes against West Brom, you wonder what’s happening.

These are young lads you’d expect to be as fit as butcher’s dogs but they seem to be constantly limping.

It might be they are simply unlucky or targets for opposing hard men but some clubs, concerned at so many injuries, are looking at training regimes wondering whether they’re being too hard on their young stars.

It could be they’re too soft, after all many lads around the age of 20 are playing two games a weekend in local leagues and then going to work.

In contrast Frank Lampard, now 36, was brought on at Southampton when Man City had been reduced to 10 men. You’d have thought it was a risk but typically he scored.

Several managers in the Premiership will envy Chelsea, not only because of their superior football but because refs seem kind to them.

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet was spot on when he complained of two reckless fouls by Diego Costa and said if his player Lee Cattermole had committed the same offences he would have been sent off.

Talking of fitness and that lad Berahino, of West Brom, seems sharp enough.

He’s been arrested for driving at 110mph on the M6 at half-three in the morning when allegedly over the drink-drive limit.

Imagine explaining the incident before training to a manager such as Sir Alex, Brian Clough or Bill Shankly.

Sam Burgess duly made his rugby union debut at centre for Bath and it didn’t take long for the knives to be out. He played 17 minutes and touched the ball twice, yet I saw two Sunday paper articles sneering at him.

These critics could perhaps have hammered Bath for only giving two passes in that time to a centre when they were well on top.

Sam will continue to ‘cop it’ until he’s given a fair chance to show his ability.

Meanwhile England beat Australia at Twickers to much relief. They were massively superior in the scrums and line-outs yet had to make 158 tackles to Australia’s 48, a strange statistic.

Lewis Hamilton is in line for BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year after winning the Formula 1 drivers’ championship with his Mercedes team mate second.

This again suggests the boffins who produce the cars deserve as much praise as drivers.

Mercedes are said to have a huge advantage because of their innovation of ‘a split turbine and compressor’, which sounds painful. Expect eager owners of posh cars to want them fitting so they can shoot away from traffic lights and do 50 in a 30 zone.