Jurrien Timber says it’s hard to put a date on his return from injury but he’s hoping to play for Arsenal before the end of the season.
The Holland international, a £34 million arrival from Ajax in the summer, is currently rehabilitating following ACL surgery after picking up a serious injury on his Premier League debut in August.
Having impressed at both right and left-back during pre-season, the 22-year-old looked destined to play a big part in the Gunners’ quest for a first league title since 2004.
While he might have to settle for a bit part role, it’s positive to hear he’s on the mend.
“I’m making good progress,” he told Arsenal show The Breakdown Live ahead of Saturday’s win over Wolves.
“It won’t be the whole season [out], I hope, I know it’s going well. It’s hard at the same time, but I’m doing my best, working hard, and just enjoying being busy.
Asked about how he’s integrating at London Colney, Timber was quick to highlight the role of his teammates in his recovery.
“It makes it easier, I see them every day on the training ground. I basically train the same time as them, it makes it easier,” he said.
“The boys are fun, it’s a young squad, and even the older guys are fun so I stay connected with them and I see them every day. For me that makes it so much easier to do my rehab well.”
It sounds as though the family atmosphere in the camp is also helping him.
He added: “The moment I stepped in, I noticed it immediately; how warm the club is, how the connection is between the players and the club and the fans.
“It’s nice to be part of obviously, I think the moment I came in the first thing I noticed was that you just don’t have a lot of egos in this team.
“I said not a lot but I think no one has like a big ego and at the same time everyone is performing so I think those that was the first thing that surprised me when I came in to this group. It’s still the same thing I think everyone is still humble and hungry.
“I’m enjoying every game. Even though I’m not playing, I’m really enjoying it and the fans are amazing. The team is performing well.”
Great news. One of the most heartbreaking things I’ve seen on a football pitch, acl on your debut like that. Come back and get a medal JT!
For a moment I thought JT is John terry😁
no no that’s FKW
The most heartbreaking thing is you can’t unsee how good he looked. It’s hard to explain to friends that don’t support arsenal but this guy showed levels. When we played Lens I did worry in the second half that we had played all our senior defenders but neither cb came off. Arsenal football club is due a bit of luck; partey fit and available from feb to end of season and Timber fit and available form March to end would do nicely
LANS
But he is an NS.
Hm.
Ok. LANSWIAANS.
(Like a new signing who is actually a new signing)
Not to be confused with Andries Lanswiaans who is backup goalkeeper for Royal Antwerp FC.
Our Angela LANSbury
Or*
LANSbury was the proposed name of our new stadium after we left Highbury. LikeANewStadiumbury. Not sure why it got rejected.
Thanks for that one Nainsley, hats off 🥳🙏
nor Henri Lansbury, a Hale End product who now apparently makes organic fertiliser for football pitches
https://talksport.com/football/1511119/henri-lansbury-arsenal-arsene-wenger/
Son of Angela…
MattTurner She Wrote.
Out of sight is out of mind – I totally forgot that we had signed this bloke this summer. Incredible to hear from him; get well soon mate. Hope to see you soon !!!
Man that would be a massive boost. I wouldn’t expect him to be anywhere close to his best when he comes back but at least for him to start the process at the end of this season and then have the whole summer to continue shaking off the rust and rehabbing, then we can maybe expect him to already be back to his best a month or two into next season, instead of spending most of next season trying to get back his confidence and then the usual fan frustration and doubts whether he’s still “got it” or if he… Read more »
ideally he takes the time he need to recover fully before being reintegrated. if that’s next season so be it. look at jamal murray from the nugget. tore his acl. took time to make sure he was fully fit instead of coming back early. came back for a new season – won a championship.
What’s his best position? He gives me Tomiyasu vibes with his versatility. Hopefully going forward we will keep buying quality young players who can play multiple positions.
That’s great, and I hope it’s true. I am not a doctor (and even if I were, I would be a doctor who had never examined this patient), but it does seem like every ACL injury keeps a player out for between ten months to a full year. It would be great to have him available for the run-in; like most supporters I hadn’t seen him much before (hardly at all) and was really surprised at how good he is, especially at fullback.
Case specific. Kyle Lowry (NBA Champion) had an ACL tear in college and returned to play in <4 months:
https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/nba/knicks/2018/02/07/way-back-nba-players-have-faced-different-recoveries-torn-acl/315015002/
Others take longer, sometimes imbalance injuries happen from over compensation.
I’ve torn an ACL. I was riding a bike (commuting) after 5 weeks – physio said it was the best thing ever – some doctors thought I was crazy. As for (park) footie, mine was fully back to normal after only 12months (stopped feeling anything – but it was a long-term misdiagnosis and partial meniscus tear – and I’m certainly not an elite athlete).
“No one has like a big ego”, I am concerned. I am not aware of any teams that won anything major without big-ego players. If you look at Arsenal, we had Henry and others. Even the last FA Cup was won with Mr Aubameyang. I want Saka and Odegaard, Martinelli to develop their “big egos”.
– ego
+ personality
He may not play much this season, but he’ll certainly be a key part of our title defence.
Man he looked so good in pre-season. Was devastated for him (and worried for us) as he was adding real quality when Tomi has been injured quite a lot, and gives Arteta so many options to mix it up by swapping him and Zinny etc. Hope he’s back on the pitch soon.