ramsey injury

Arsenal great Bob Wilson has called on football authorities to act in the wake of Aaron Ramsey's horrific injury against Stoke on Saturday.

Ramsey suffered a double compound fracture at the Britannia Stadium after a challenge by defender Ryan Shawcross.

And Wilson believes more should be done to prevent such injuries.

"The game has moved forward but the Football Association and the Premier League are content to have a brutal side to the game," he told BBC Wales.

Wilson also suggests British national sides will pay the price for such injuries, adding: "Ultimately [England, Scotland and Wales] will not win major competitions in that way."

The midfielder was stretchered off during the Gunners' 3-1 win after the tackle by Shawcross, who was sent off for the challenge and left the field in tears.

The 19-year-old Wales international underwent surgery later on Saturday to fix fractures to his tibia and fibula in his right leg and has unsurprisingly been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Former Gunners goalkeeper Wilson played for the north London side between 1963 and 1974 and was a coach for the club for 28 years until the end of the 2002-03 season.

He added: "In my opinion this is born out of most managers and coaches facing Arsenal, plus media pundits and even ex-players, instructing their players to get in their faces.

"Arsenal are a relatively small team. Opposing players are told to shake them up, get in their faces, tackle hard, bully them. I would defy coaches and managers to deny that is the case.

"The tackle by Ryan Shawcross was at best mistimed, at worst reckless and desperate."

Players from both sides were visibly shaken by the incident, which was not replayed on live television.

The injury had echoes of Eduardo's double fracture at Birmingham two years ago.

The Gunners also lost midfielder Abou Diaby to serious injury in 2006 at Sunderland.

Wilson revealed he had contacted Ramsey after the incident at the Britannia Stadium.

"I managed to get a message through to the Arsenal physio to find out how Aaron was doing and the answer was he was doing well," said Wilson.

"I was told that he was feeling very little pain following surgery so I sent a text to Aaron and I received a little message back saying 'I'm doing OK'.

"But it is a career-threatening injury, a double compound fracture.

"In the time I played, Don Howe had a similar injury, tibia and fibula through the skin, which is obviously horrific, and he didn't play again.

"Clearly it's a huge setback but I think Aaron will be back. Modern science will aid that recovery. He's a very, very special talent."

Ramsey joined Arsenal in June, 2008, as a highly rated 17-year-old for £5m from Cardiff City.

He has made 29 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring four times.