Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber is now set to take a major step forward in his recovery journey.
Jurrien Timber has hardly featured for Arsenal this season.
The Gunners paid £38 million to prise the Dutchman away from Ajax in the recent summer transfer window.
The versatile defender impressed for the North London club in pre-season, and looked to be an ideal tactical fit for Mikel Arteta’s side.
However, disaster struck for the 22-year-old on the opening weekend of the Premier League season when he sustained a serious knee injury. Timber has been sidelined ever since.
Jurrien Timber set to take step closer to Arsenal return
The player is now approaching a return to action. He has been back in training for some time, though the Gunners are understandably taking a cautious approach with this final phase of his rehabilitation process. The last thing that the North London club want is for Timber to be put back out on the pitch too quickly, only for his injury to be aggravated.
However, Arteta has stated that Timber stands a good chance of featuring for the Arsenal first-team again before the end of the current campaign.
The 15-cap Netherlands international is now set to take another big step forward in his recovery journey, and a new target date for his first-team return has now been revealed.
According to journalist Oli Price-Bates, reporting on X, Timber is set to play a part for the Arsenal under-21s side when they take on Blackburn Rovers tonight. Arteta is hopeful that he will be able to name Timber in his first-team squad when the Gunners take on Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium on May 4th.
How Jurrien Timber will fit in with Mikel Arteta’s plans
Arsenal fans will be desperate to see Timber back in action as soon as possible, and will be hoping that he can get through this run-out with the youth side without any further complications.
Of course, Timber’s first season with the English capital club hasn’t gone to plan, but he remains a big part of Arteta’s future plans. He is a player with huge potential who will be expected to have a major impact next season. Timber has been tipped to usurp Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order once he is back to full fitness.
The former Ajax man has been making wise use of his time on the treatment table, too. Timber has familiarised himself with Arsenal’s tactics in an effort to ensure he is ready to slot into Arteta’s system seamlessly upon his return.