Arsenal have revealed that summer signing Jurrien Timber will undergo surgery to repair the ACL which he damaged on his debut for the club last weekend.
Timber started alongside fellow summer signings Declan Rice and Kai Havertz for Arsenal as they sealed their first three points of the season in front of their home fans. He was also in action as Arsenal won the FA Community Shield against Manchester City the week before.
While the game against Nottingham Forest was ongoing, the young Dutch defender experienced some discomfort and fell to the ground on his own. He had to be led out of the pitch and scans showed that he suffered an ACL rupture.
After days of waiting and speculating, Arsenal fans have now been told by the club in a statement about Timber’s injury that the 22-year-old defender will undergo surgery which will keep him out of the squad for an extended period of time.
“Further to detailed assessments with consultant specialists since Saturday, we can confirm that Jurrien Timber has sustained an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee,” Arsenal’s statement read. “Jurrien will undergo surgery in the coming days and will be out of action for a period of time.
“The support and expertise from our medical team and everyone at the club will now be focussed on Jurrien’s rehabilitation programme, to ensure he recovers well and is back playing as soon as possible.”
Timber himself took to social media to express his disappointment over the injury, promising to be back stronger later in the season after his surgery and recovery period.
“Gutted to share my injury is more serious than expected, especially after the warm welcome I’ve received. I wanted to repay you on the pitch, which will not be possible for the forthcoming period. Thanks for making me feel at home and see you at The Carpet.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hinted that the club could look at the transfer market to sign a backup for Timber. The Dutch defender’s versatility allows him to play in any position across the defence and his sloss significantly weakens the squad. Arsenal may have to increase their transfer spending which has crossed the £200 million mark in order to get someone in to cover for Timber.
“It is a huge blow. Especially for him after just joining the club. We recruited him with clear intentions and what he was bringing to the team was evident,” Arteta said. “I’m more thinking about the resources in the team to do what we want to do. But it’s true he was giving us a lot on both sides.
“Well, we didn’t plan obviously with this injury. We have to assess now what the options are, what the best way is to get the best out of the players we have. As I said, my biggest challenge now is to get the best out of the players we have.
“I cannot control anything that is not here. And we are always open and we have to be open and react if something happens, not only with an injury but with the market as well – and that’s what we are doing.”
