Nature of new Jurrien Timber injury revealed by journalist with Dutchman set to miss Arsenal v Leverkusen | OneFootball

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has been struggling with a load-bearing injury, according to the Times journalist Gary Jacob.

The Dutchman spent the entire of last season out injured after picking up a knock on the opening day of the campaign and requiring surgery, and it appears he is struggling with his fitness again.

Arsenal take on Bayer Leverkusen today at Emirates Stadium in the Emirates Cup, and a fan account posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that they had not seen Timber on the team bus carrying the squad to face the Bundesliga club.

It left Arsenal fans concerned, and Jacob has attempted to provide clarity.

The 23-year-old was not spotted in the training videos and pictures the Gunners released after they welcomed back the rest of the squad to the Sobha Realty Training Centre over the weekend ahead of this week’s friendlies.

The North Londoners have yet to provide an official update on the fitness of Timber, but he is unexpected to play today and could also be missing in action when they take on Lyon on Sunday in their last pre-season game.

The former Ajax star featured during the pre-season tour of the United States, and fans have been hyped up ahead of the new campaign, with many tipping him to make a huge impact.

He has come back strongly from the serious knee injury which dealt a massive blow on the plans of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta last term, and the Spaniard will hope the current issue is not a serious one.

The Gunners begin 2024-25 in ten days time when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers in their opening game of the new Premier League campaign, and it will be interesting to see whether Timber is available for selection.

Arsenal have signed Italy international defender Riccardo Calafiori, and the versatile star can feature at left-back, with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior also available options in the position.