The Dutch international is back on the grass after his long-term groin injury, although Arsenal are refusing to rush one of their most important defenders.
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Mikel Arteta has revealed Jurrien Timber is back on the pitch and making encouraging progress in his recovery, but Arsenal supporters will still have to wait a little longer before seeing the defender return to competitive action.
Timber has not featured during Arsenal’s pre-season after a persistent groin problem ruled him out of the World Cup and continued to delay his comeback throughout the summer.
The injury first surfaced towards the end of last season, proved more serious than initially anticipated and ultimately required a carefully managed rehabilitation programme and a small surgical proceedure.
The Netherlands international missed much of Arsenal’s run-in, made only a brief return around the Champions League final and was then forced to withdraw from the World Cup after failing to recover in time.
He will, of course, miss Sunday’s Community Shield meeting with Manchester City and the opening weeks of the Premier League season.
Speaking ahead of the new campaign, Arteta delivered his most positive update yet, although he stressed Arsenal would not rush one of their most important defenders back into action.
“Jurrien is progressing really well, he is on the pitch,” Arteta said.
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“We are ramping up now with certain actions and especially the volume and the load, and I think he is on a good trajectory, but there are still a few weeks to go.
“I don’t know [if Timber will be available before the international break]; we have to wait and see,” Arteta added.
“He needs to start training with the group in the next week or so, hopefully, and then see how he progresses from there. It’s been a long-term issue right now, and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one, he feels right to do that and he’s such an important player for us.”
With William Saliba also sidelined, Timber’s recovery remains one of the club’s biggest priorities. The latest signs are positive, but Arteta made clear there is no intention of taking unnecessary risks with a player Arsenal expect to play a major role once fully fit.
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