The versatile Gunners full-back has been struggling for a while now with a lingering ankle injury, playing through the pain barrier in order to help the club in their unsuccessful quest to win the Champions League
However, following Arsenal’s agonising semi-final exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, news emerged last week that Timber, who has not played since that narrow second-leg defeat at the Parc des Princes on May 7, would need a minor operation to correct the long-standing issue.
There was said to be optimism that the Dutch international would be back ready for pre-season, with Ben White having started at right-back for the recent Premier League matches against Newcastle and Liverpool, and likely to do so again on the final day of the top-flight season away at relegated Southampton on Sunday.
Speaking on Thursday ahead of that trip to the south coast, Arteta confirmed that Timber had now had his operation and would need a period of “weeks” to recover.
“Jurrien, he had surgery on Tuesday morning on his ankle,” the Arsenal boss told reporters at his pre-match press conference. “He’s been navigating through the season with that issue, and it needed to be resolved, so he’s going to be out for a while.
Pushed on if Timber would be fit in time for pre-season, Arteta replied: “We don’t know yet. It will depend how the recovery goes.
“It will be weeks, but we don’t know exactly how much. Hopefully, it will be somewhere near the pre-season, if everything goes well, but we don’t know yet.
Arsenal, not involved in the inaugural expanded FIFA Club World Cup being held in the United States this summer, are heading to the Far East for their pre-season tour in 2025, facing Serie A giants AC Milan in Singapore on July 23 before meeting familiar opponents Newcastle at the same venue four days later.
They then travel to Hong Kong to face north London rivals Tottenham at the new Kai Tak Stadium on July 31.
