Jurrien Timber provides injury update ahead of Arsenal vs Leeds clash | Football

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber says he is yet to reach full match fitness and must be ‘very smart’ about his return to first-team action to avoid further injury.

It has proven a deeply frustrating period for Timber over the last year, with a groin problem keeping the Dutchman sidelined for two months in the back-end of Arsenal’s title-winning campaign.

Given Timber had returned from an ACL injury in his debut season at the Emirates to establish himself as arguably the finest right-back in the Premier League, his latest setback will have come as a bitter blow.

Despite featuring in Arsenal’s Champions League final loss to PSG in May, the 25-year-old was not deemed fit enough to be considered for the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign in the summer..

Determined to avoid a recurrence of the injury, Mikel Arteta has been keen to take a cautious approach with Timber’s fitness in the intervening months – and full-back did not appear in any of the Gunners’ pre-season fixtures.

Timber made his long-awaited return as a substitute in Arsenal’s victory over Sunderland last month before playing an hour of the champions’ defeat to Brighton prior to the international break.

It was enough to earn Timber a call-up to Xavi’s Netherlands squad and the former Ajax man was handed a start against Greece in the Nations League.

He then dropped back down to the bench versus Serbia this weekend, telling reports ahead of the clash: ‘I have to be very smart about the steps we take.

‘Otherwise, I’ll suffer a setback, and I don’t want that.

‘I want to play every game and take part in every training session.

‘However, the physios advise me on what is best for me. So, I need to listen to them carefully.’

Speaking exclusively to Metro last month, Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics, explained why every precaution was being taken with Timber’s rehabilitation.

‘The smart thing for Arsenal to be doing at this time would be to manage his load,’ Smith said.

‘To try and create rotation opportunities for him to rest and recover and refuel the tank.

‘The output Arsenal try to deliver physically is huge so it makes total sense given the injury history and his importance to the team to ensure they don’t run into the same issues they had before.’

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