Jurriën Timber may miss the first World Cup qualifying matches for the Netherlands at the beginning of next month. The defender has undergone ankle surgery and, according to Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta, will be sidelined for several weeks.
“Jurriën had surgery on Tuesday and will be out for a few weeks,” Arteta said on Wednesday in an update on Arsenal’s injury situation.
Timber will definitely miss the last match of the Premier League season against Southampton due to the injury. The defender already missed Sunday’s league match against Newcastle United (1-0 win).
In the rest of the season, Timber was almost always a starter in Arteta’s team. He played a total of 48 matches and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League with Arsenal. In the battle for the Premier League title, Arsenal had to bow to Liverpool.
The Dutch national team begins its qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup in June and may have to do so without Timber. The former Ajax player already missed the recent Nations League matches against Spain because he was ill.
On May 26, national coach Ronald Koeman will announce his selection. The Netherlands will play against Finland on June 7 and three days later against Malta.