Jurrien Timber injury timeline as frustrating Arsenal return wait goes on | OneFootball

Gunners have mostly been without first-choice right-back since March

The new season is fast approaching for Arsenal but for Jurrien Timber it is more of the same.

Timber spent the final two months of last term battling injury, racing to recover and play a part in the run-in, and those concerns have not gone away with the start of the campaign now just a few weeks away.

The Dutchman's problems stem back to March, when he was forced off in the first half of the win over Everton with a groin issue. At the time, it was viewed as a minor injury.

Timber missed the Carabao Cup final a week later, but there was confidence within the club that he would be back straight after the international break to face Southampton.

Instead, Timber did not play again until he came off the bench in the Champions League final in May.

The injury proved to be far more complicated than initially expected and Timber suffered a setback in his recovery.

“That’s been probably the most difficult thing to manage with the player, with myself as well,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said at the time.

Jurrien Timber came off the bench in the Champions League final, but otherwise hasn’t played since March

AFP/Getty

“We didn’t expect it to take so long, and at the moment, he’s not fit to play.”

Arteta was keen to keep Timber around the group while he was injured.

He attended most of Arsenal’s home matches, including the second leg of the Champions League semi-final win over Atletico Madrid.

However, it was noticeable how gingerly Timber was moving when he joined the post-match celebrations on the pitch.

Timber also travelled with the squad to the London Stadium for the Premier League match against West Ham in May.

He was even on the pitch for the warm-up, standing next to the coaches in his tracksuit.

It was in that match that Ben White picked up a season-ending knee injury to further stretch Arsenal’s options at right-back.

The focus then became on trying to get Timber fit just for the Champions League final.

He stepped up his training in the week leading up to the match in Budapest.

In his pre-match press conference, Arteta declared that Timber was fit to start.

There was an element of mind games to those comments. Had Timber been 100 per cent, he would have started a match of that magnitude.

Instead he came off the bench against Paris Saint-Germain and looked impressively sharp considering the circumstances.

However, Timber was still not fully fit and the Dutch national team confirmed as much when assessing his condition ahead of the World Cup.

The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) confirmed in a statement that Timber had "not recovered sufficiently" to take part in the tournament in a "medically responsible manner".

Arsenal and Timber then decided that the best course of action was minor groin surgery over the summer.

That went to plan and Timber reported back at the club for the start of pre-season. However, he gave a cautious update when asked how his summer had been.

“I’m getting there slowly,” Timber said. “I’m trying hard, been rehabbing over the summer. Hopefully back soon.”

Timber was not involved in the behind-closed-doors friendly against MK Dons last weekend and is not expected to be in the squad to face Girona on Saturday.

He returned to London this week for a pre-planned appointment before flying back out to Spain.

Arsenal insist there has been no setback with his recovery and that Timber’s brief trip to London was in line with his rehabilitation programme.

However, no timeframe has been provided for when he is expected to be back playing.

With Timber still unavailable and White only just returning from his knee injury, it is no surprise that Arsenal are in the market for a versatile defender.

When he is fit, there are few players Arteta trusts more than Timber.

The Arsenal manager, though, is facing another frustrating wait to get Timber back on the pitch.