Walcott on injuries and beating Henry's club record

In a candid interview with the News of the World, striker Theo Walcott says that his speed has improved and that he is now faster than former captain Thierry Henry.

Walcott has struggled for fitness this season and the fans have yet to see the best of him, but the former Southampton striker admits that this will be a defining season for him.

The England international had injuries to both shoulders on separate occasions, and we are now in December and Walcott is just starting to get back into the stride of playing regularly.

Walcott said: "Now both shoulders have been done I'm confident of going on the outside again.

"And the fact is there is no problem with my running style now because I have just completed a couple of tests and I have actually got quicker.

"In fact, I have beaten Thierry Henry's two club records on these tests where you're timed between five and 15 metres and five and 40 metres."

Despite his problems with injuries, Walcott is adamant that he is not 'injury prone' and that it is down to genetics that he has a problem with his shoulders.

"I am definitely not injury prone - I was born with dysfunctional shoulders. My dad had shoulder problems. It's a genetic thing.

"I have had operations on both shoulders to stop them from keep popping out and I am confident now that things will be fine.

"I haven't had to change my game now but there was a time when it was affecting me.

"Once it started dislocating during a match and it was then popped back, you wouldn't see me for the rest of the game, it was that painful. It was towards the end of the season two years ago.

"The shoulders were popping out every game and I wasn't playing well. No one knew about it but there were some games when one of the shoulders was popping out five or six times in a match.

"I have to admit I'd be drifting in and out of those game a lot. Then when it came out I was going to need an operation, a lot of players started taking advantage and whacking me around.

"Players were targeting me. It was getting too much. I remember a game at Everton, there were hailstones, the worst weather ever.

"I just fell over, dislocated my shoulder and had to come off. I knew then I'd had enough and I needed to deal with the problem.

"I am 21 in March and this is a defining year for me," Walcott admits. "Definitely a big year. Once you are 21, you want to be starting for your club and then hopefully your country on regular basis.

"Obviously for me, one of the highlights of my career so far is to have become the youngest player to have scored a hat-trick for England against Croatia last year.

"But I don't want to always be remembered for being the youngest England player to score a hat-trick. I need to look at that game and see what I did well and use it as a springboard.

"With the injuries I have had, it has set me back a bit since then.

"I need to get back to that level. I need to get MORE involved and I need to get MORE goals.

"First and foremost, I need to get a consistent run in the Arsenal side. That has to be the focus. I can't start looking too far ahead.

"So far this season has been frustrating from a personal point of view. I had no pre-season really then I have a series of unlucky injuries.

"But now I am back, I've had a little run so going into Christmas and the New Year I'm looking at that and saying this is when my season starts."

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