Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber set to miss most of 2023-24 Premier League after ACL injury against Nottingham Forest

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber will undergo surgery in the coming days after suffering an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee. The Dutch international is expected to miss most of his first season in the Premier League, according to CBS Sports sources, after limping out of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners have not put a timescale on Timber’s recovery but CBS Sports understands that he is likely to miss around seven months. The injury is a hammer blow for the player, who had impressed both in the Community Shield against Manchester City and the first half of his Premier League debut last weekend, and will be keenly felt by Mikel Arteta, who had already come to value the “courage and personality” of the youngster.

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“Further to detailed assessments with consultant specialists since Saturday, we can confirm that Jurrien Timber has sustained an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee,” said Arsenal. “Jurrien will undergo surgery in the coming days and will be out of action for a period of time.

“The support and expertise from our medical team and everyone at the club will now be focussed on Jurrien’s rehabilitation programme, to ensure he recovers well and is back playing as soon as possible.”

On Monday, CBS Sports revealed that Arsenal were fearing Timber had suffered an ACL injury following initial scans on the 22 year old. Further assessments were required to examine the meniscus as well and it was notable that the club’s announcement made no reference to any issue with that piece of knee cartilage.

Timber had only arrived at Arsenal last month following a £34 million move from Ajax but had won rave reviews for his performances in preseason. He will now face a lengthy rehabilitation process in a bid to recover his fitness not just for the final weeks of the domestic campaign but also for Euro 2024, should the Netherlands qualify.

“Gutted to share my injury is more serious than expected,” wrote Timber on Instagram, “especially after the warm welcome I’ve received. I wanted to repay you on the pitch, which will not be possible for the forthcoming period. I’m blessed with a lot of great people around me. Together we will do anything to get back as soon and strong as possible.

“For now I’ll be supporting our team from the stands of course. Thanks for making me feel at home in such a short period of time, see you at The Carpet.”

Arsenal are not currently minded to look for a replacement in the window. In the left back spot that Timber started both games in so far they have Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu. The latter is an option on the right flank too, where Mikel Arteta can also call on Ben White and Thomas Partey. Cedric Soares and Kieran Tierney remain part of the first team squad too but the Gunners are ready to do business for either player.