Jurrien Timber’s hopes of being fit for Arsenal’s Premier League match against Liverpool have suffered a significant setback, as he was omitted from the Netherlands’ provisional squad for next month’s Nations League fixtures.
The 23-year-old has been sidelined since Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the beginning of October and remains a doubt for Sunday’s crucial top-of-the-table clash against Liverpool as he continues to recover from a muscle injury.
On Friday, Mikel Arteta provided an update, revealing that Timber had returned to the training pitch at Arsenal’s London Colney facility, with the goal of proving his fitness ahead of the weekend.
“It was the first session that he could have some involvement,” said Arteta when asked for an update on the former Ajax defender.
“He’s been out for a while.
“We expected him to be further along than he is at the moment.
‘Again, we will have to see.”
Timber’s hopes of proving his fitness for Sunday’s clash have suffered a significant setback, as he was excluded from the Netherlands’ squad for November’s fixtures against Hungary and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The defender, who joined Arsenal from Ajax last summer, started five of the team’s first six Premier League matches this season before sustaining a muscle injury earlier this month.
If Timber is ruled out of Sunday’s game, it will be yet another injury blow for the Gunners.
Arsenal are already missing Martin Odegaard and William Saliba, and could also be without Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka.
Calafiori limped off during Tuesday’s match against Shakhtar Donetsk after twisting his knee, while Saka has not played since suffering a knee injury while on England duty earlier this month.
Liverpool, meanwhile are set to be without Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley, and Federico Chiesa, in addition to long-term absentees Harvey Elliott and Alisson Becker.
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