Arsenal fear Jurrien Timber out for ‘months’ with serious knee injury
Arsenal fear new signing Jurrien Timber will be out for ‘months’ after suffering a ‘serious knee injury’ on his Premier League debut last Saturday.
Timber went down hurt shortly before half-time of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest following a strong challenge on Brennan Johnson that got him booked.
He received treatment on the touchline and was back on the pitch for the restart, but would last just five more minutes before going down again, eventually limping off the field with assistance from medical staff.
Post-match, Mikel Arteta was unsure of the defender’s condition, saying: ‘The physio and doctors looked at him and were happy to continue. Straight away in the second he made a movement and it felt funny. We will have to assess him.’
What is the extent of the injury?
Having arrived from Ajax for £40million this summer, fans have been hoping that the Dutch international will be back to full fitness soon but while the Gunners are yet to provide an official update, a new report may have confirmed their worst fear.
MailSport claim that Timber may have sustained a ‘significant knee ligament injury’ that will keep him in the treatment room for several months to come.
What does this mean for Arsenal?
If true, this is a huge blow for Arteta, as the 22-year-old had already established himself in Arsenal’s first XI, starting the win over Forest and the Community Shield triumph the weekend before.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was the man brought onto replace Timber and it is the Japan international and Gabriel Magalhaes who will likely be called upon to fill the void in defence.
If Timber really is out for the next few months he is set to miss several very important fixtures including Manchester United and Tottenham in September and Manchester City and Chelsea in October – not to mention the return of the Champions League.
What’s next for Arsenal?
For now, Arsenal continue their campaign next Monday night away to Crystal Palace.
The Gunners do have a growing injury list that now includes Timber, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Folarin Balogun.
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