Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber appears to have been left out of today’s squad for the friendly with Bayer Leverkusen due to a load-bearing injury, according to Gary Jacob.
Timber potentially looks like he could be a key player for the Gunners in the season ahead after missing the entire 2023/24 campaign with a serious injury sustained in the opening Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal fans will now be desperate to see Timber back in action for Mikel Arteta’s side, and he’s certainly impressed in pre-season so far, though it now seems he’s out of action again, even if it doesn’t currently sound like anything too serious or long-term…
Jacob has posted on X that Timber has been struggling with a load-bearing injury, so it could just be that the Dutchman needs to be managed back to full fitness slowly in the weeks and months ahead.
It was never likely to be easy for Timber after such a lengthy period out of action, but Gooners will hope he can finally put his fitness woes behind him and make the kind of contribution he’s surely capable of.
The 23-year-old looked a fantastic talent during his time at former club Ajax, and he seems stylistically perfect for the kind of football Arteta has Arsenal playing.
There is now added competition in defence after the arrival of Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna this summer, but Timber is capable of filling in at any one of right-back, left-back or centre-back to good effect.
Even if Timber isn’t likely to be a regular starter for AFC for the time being, that versatility could mean he’ll have plenty of chances in the season ahead as Arteta will likely want to rest players such as William Saliba and Ben White from time to time as the team challenges in four competitions.
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