Timber: 'I have to be very smart' as full fitness still awaits

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Jurrien Timber has admitted he is still not at full match fitness and will need to manage his return to first-team action carefully to avoid another setback.

The Dutchman has endured a difficult 12 months. A groin problem kept him out for two months at the back end of Arsenal's title-winning campaign, and although he featured in the Champions League final defeat to PSG in May, he was not deemed fit enough to be included in the Netherlands squad for the World Cup over the summer.

That came after Timber had already fought back from an ACL injury in his debut season at the Emirates to establish himself as one of the Premier League's standout right-backs — making the latest interruption all the more frustrating.

A deliberately slow build-up

Mikel Arteta has taken a notably cautious approach with the 25-year-old. Timber did not feature in any of Arsenal's pre-season fixtures, instead returning as a substitute in the victory over Sunderland last month before playing an hour of the defeat to Brighton ahead of the international break.

That was enough to earn him a recall to Xavi's Netherlands squad, where he started against Greece in the Nations League before dropping back to the bench for the meeting with Serbia.

Speaking ahead of that game, Timber made clear the rehabilitation is still ongoing. "I have to be very smart about the steps we take," he said, as reported by Metro. "Otherwise, I'll suffer a setback, and I don't want that."

He added: "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."

The load management argument

Speaking to Metro last month, Stephen Smith — CEO and founder of injury welfare and performance analytics company Kitman Labs — explained the reasoning behind Arsenal's measured handling of the defender.

"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."

He continued: "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."

Timber's versatility — capable of operating at right-back, centre-back and inverting into midfield — has made him one of the more valuable pieces in Arteta's squad, which is precisely why the staged return has been handled the way it has.

With Leeds up next, the question is how many minutes Timber is given rather than whether he features at all. On current evidence, Arsenal appear content to keep building him up gradually rather than rushing him back to a full 90.