Jurrien Timber missed both games for the Netherlands against Spain over the international break, but the hope is that he’ll be available for Arsenal’s next fixture.
Arsenal fans following Spain’s Nations League quarter-final tie against the Netherlands would have noted that whilst Mikel Merino featured in both games and David Raya was on the bench, Jurrien Timber was completely absent from the two opposition squads.
Timber was called up for the March break, but he ended up being unable to play for the Netherlands due to illness.
The Dutch national team website initially confirmed that Timber would miss the first leg after being “left ill in the hotel”. They later added that Timber would also miss the second leg, with Ian Maatsen of Aston Villa joining the squad as his replacement.
The national team confirmed that Sunday’s second leg had just come “too early” for the Arsenal defender.
There’s no suggestion that the illness is anything serious enough to keep Timber out for the long-term, it’s just that the two matches took place within three days of each other. If he was too sick for the first, it was always likely he’d struggle to make the second.
The good news from an Arsenal point of view is that the Gunners don’t play this weekend, with Saturday and Sunday reserved for FA Cup fixtures. As a result, Timber has another eight days to recover before Mikel Arteta will next look to call on him for a match.
The Gunners face Fulham on Tuesday, April 1st at 19:45 BST, with Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kai Havertz, and Riccardo Calafiori all expected to miss the match.
Raheem Sterling will be available again after missing the Chelsea game due to his loan conditions, and Bukayo Saka is finally in with at least an outside chance of a return after his hamstring injury absence. Though it depends how he progresses over the break.
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