Jurrien Timber didn’t complete the full 90 minutes for the Netherlands on Saturday, but there’s no suggestion of an injury setback for the Arsenal man.
Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber made his return to the Dutch national team on Saturday, making his first international start since March 2023 and his first appearance on any kind since September, having missed the October break through injury.
As in September, it was notable that Timber was used as a left-back. That wasn’t something he’d ever done for the national team before joining Arsenal, but Ronald Koeman has clearly been watching how Mikel Arteta has utilised the 23-year-old.
It was also worth noting that Timber was withdrawn early from the contest, particularly given all of his recent injury woes.
Timber came off after 68 minutes, but the context of the substitution gave no cause for concern.
The Netherlands had just gone 3-0 up, securing the result, and Timber had just picked up a yellow card. For both fitness and the potential risk of a second yellow, the substitution made sense.
There was no hint of an injury, and Timber came off as one of a couple of concurrent substitutions.
The Netherlands ultimately won the match 4-0, and Timber’s performance was largely praised as solid and dependable.
The former Ajax man completed 98% of his passes, creating one chance, completing both of his dribbles and having a shot on target. His next chance to play for his country will come on Tuesday, November 19th, as the team travel away to Bosnia & Herzegovina at 19:45 GMT.
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