Arsenal are keeping their fingers crossed that Jurrien Timber will be back from his ankle procedure in time for the start of pre-season, expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
It was reported on Monday that the Dutchman would be going under the knife to address an ankle problem, one that has been plaguing him for a while but one that he has also managed to play through.
However, it has now got to the stage where surgical intervention is necessary, similar to Ben White with his knee concern last autumn, meaning Timber will end an unrelenting season with two goals and four assists in 48 games after playing just three times in 2023-24.
The 23-year-old’s first season in North London was hampered by a severe ACL injury, but he has quickly become indispensable to Mikel Arteta, and his availability has been particularly crucial amid a spate of other defensive injury worries.
There is optimism that Timber will not miss any competitive fixtures, though, with Watts saying: “He’s had to play basically every single game because there’s been no Ben White, no Takehiro Tomiyasu. Timber has run himself into the ground, just like Ben White did last season.
“He’s been playing through the pain for a while, they’ve taken the decision to do the operation because they hope he’ll be back for pre-season. But he’s been an absolute warrior this season. This is coming off the back of an ACL, he’s missed a whole year.
“Absolute warrior” Timber expected back for pre-season
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“And now he’s on the fifth-highest minutes for Arsenal this season. That was never going to be in the plan. But unfortunately, because of injuries, he’s had to do that. All those minutes just contributed to what’s happened to him in the last few weeks of the season and others as well.
“If you’re a football club and you’re having a host of injuries, you’ve got to make sure this can’t happen again next season. And it can’t for Arsenal. Arteta has said it; it’s absolutely imperative that availability is high next season because it’s not been good enough.
“They’ll be looking at reasons why it’s happened this season, what they can do differently. Hopefully they find that magic formula to make sure next season is a season where we’re not just talking about injury after injury after injury. We’re just talking about players being available.”
Timber is one of two new fitness concerns for Arsenal to manage ahead of the final game of the season against Southampton on Sunday, as William Saliba came off at half time in the 1-0 win over Newcastle United last weekend, although the severity of his condition is unclear.
The Frenchman is the latest in a long line of Gunners to tweak their hamstrings this season, as Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard also did so earlier this month, although both made miraculous recoveries to be fit for the visit of Newcastle.
Trossard is just one of three Arsenal players to have been available for every Premier League game this season alongside David Raya and Jakub Kiwior, while Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes, Tomiyasu, White and Kai Havertz have all undergone surgeries too.
“Impossible to analyse” Arsenal season without injuries
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Arteta highlighted his side’s frequent fitness problems and red cards before last weekend as two significant factors in his side’s underwhelming season, and Watts is in agreement that the Gunners’ crippling absentee issues must be taken into account.
“He’s not saying that they would have won the league, who knows if they would have done?” Watts added. “But they would have been a hell of a lot closer to Liverpool than they are now. It’s impossible to analyse it and not look at those injuries as a direct result of Arsenal’s struggles.
“Liverpool deserving champions, absolutely. They have been the best team by a country mile this season. You can’t have no injuries. It’s a part of football. But just half of the injuries they’ve had, they’d have been so much closer.
“That’s the big, big frustration. You can see it with every answer Arteta gives now. He’s been very good this season not using it as an excuse and using it to motivate the players. But in the last couple of weeks, once the title’s gone, he started to point to it more and more.”
On the other side of the coin, one player who has been a beneficiary of Arsenal’s injury problems and hectic schedule in the second half of the season has been White, who made his third successive Premier League start in the win over Newcastle.
The 27-year-old is also expected to make the first XI against Southampton on Sunday in the final gameweek of the season, where he could earn just his 26th appearance in a troubled campaign, and he has struggled to get back to his best since his knee operation.
However, White is still expected to be in contention for the next England squad, and only a few days ago, he publicly opened the door to returning to the national team for the first time since his self-imposed exile.
Is it too early for White to return to England?
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White did not make Thomas Tuchel‘s first selection in March, but the German revealed that he had been speaking to the right-back over a possible return, and Watts would not be surprised to see the Arsenal man called up for next month.
“It’s up to Thomas Tuchel, but I don’t think it’d be too soon,” he concluded. “He’s played quite a few minutes recently. He’s nowhere near his best at the moment; you can see that, he’s trying to play his way back into form, fitness, match sharpness.
“He’s very similar to Bukayo Saka; the two of them have been operating at 70% of what we’d normally expect. After a good pre-season, I’m looking forward to seeing them back firing on all cylinders.
“I’m sure Tuchel will want to have a look at him for these games, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s in it. With my Arsenal hat on, I’d much rather him have the summer off, not have to worry about it and just get ready for next season.
“But it wouldn’t surprise me if Tuchel calls him up. They’ve been having the conversations.”
England continue their World Cup 2026 Qualifying campaign away to Andorra on June 7, three days before a friendly against Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.
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