Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has provided a fitness update on defender Jurrien Timber.
Having moved to the Emirates Stadium in a £34m deal from Ajax last summer, Timber endured a disastrous first campaign with the Gunners.
After suffering a serious knee injury on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest in August, the Netherlands international would not return to top-flight action until the final day of 2023-24.
Featuring for 22 minutes against Everton on May 19 was a welcome boost to all concerned, setting Timber up to play a full role in pre-season.
That is how things developed during the opening two encounters against Bournemouth and Manchester United, Timber making 62-minute and 63-minute outings respectively.
However, the 23-year-old missed his second game in succession on Wednesday night as Arsenal squared off against Bayer Leverkusen.
Arteta comments on Timber status
Arsenal enjoyed an enjoyable evening at the Emirates Stadium, storming to a 4-1 victory over opponents who went through last season's Bundesliga campaign without losing a single game.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz all got on the scoresheet ahead of the club's final warm-up encounter against Lyon at the weekend.
After the game, Arteta was naturally quizzed on the fitness of Timber, who he will hope will effectively act like a new signing given his absence last season.
Rather than there being any concern over his previous knee injury, the Spaniard revealed that it was a foot issue that had kept Timber out of action.
As per Sam Dean of The Telegraph, Arteta said: "Jurrien Timber had little discomfort in his foot the last few days.
"After the time he has been out, we did not want to take any risks."
Ramification for new season?
While Arteta will no doubt be hoping that Timber is available for the start of the new campaign, it was always highly unlikely that he would be risked for the opening Premier League game with Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 17.
There has been speculation regarding the future of Zinchenko, yet the Ukraine international showed on Tuesday night that he is ready to fight for his place.
Timber will almost certainly be eased back into action, especially with Arsenal only having three competitive fixtures on their schedule until the middle of September. body check tags ::
