Jurrien Timber
Jurrien Timber
A player who forces himself into one last night of the season often pays for it in the next. Fifty-four minutes in a final can be the difference between a summer with his country and a summer in rehab.
When the same groin goes again, the word relapse is the one he does not want. Twenty-five weeks out is the number that follows instead.
International week is where that story gets told. The new manager says he is available. The player talks about how close it was to never happening.
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Jurrien Timber has said it was “a miracle” that he featured in Arsenal’s Champions League final last season. Speaking on Netherlands duty, the 25-year-old is still managing the groin problem that ruled him out of the World Cup.
He made his first start since 14 March in the 3-0 defeat at Brighton, after a cameo in the 2-0 win at Sunderland.
“Still, calling it a relapse is too harsh. You know, I was injured for a total of 25 weeks before and after the World Cup. To be honest, I only felt good during that week of the Champions League final. It was a miracle [that I played].”
He came on in the second half in Budapest after Ben White’s knee injury and played 54 minutes including extra-time. When he joined the pre-World Cup camp, the warning signs returned.
“From the outside, it all looked good. But I felt I couldn’t go all out. You can get away with that in training, not in a match.”
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He had already missed Euro 2024. Playing at a World Cup with his twin brother Quinten was the dream. He pulled out before the Uzbekistan warm-up in New York after talks with Ruud van Nistelrooy, then flew to Miami as the squad left for Kansas City.
“Leaving my brother and those other guys behind really hit hard.
“It was for just a few days. I had worked hard for two months to get fit again and make it to the Champions League final, and I had hardly any days off. After dropping out of the World Cup, I noticed that I needed to do nothing for a while, also to recover from the disappointment.”
A minor surgical procedure followed. He watched the Netherlands games from London.
Xavi, in his first camp as Netherlands coach, says Timber can face Germany on Thursday but must be handled carefully after training alone on Monday and Tuesday.
“We are now focused on tomorrow, not on the rest of the matches. We are ready. We have to be a bit careful with Jurrien Timber, who was injured for a long time. But he is available, that goes for everyone.”
Arsenal need that caution as much as the Dutch do. White and Cristhian Mosquera are also working towards Leeds on 10 October. Timber has only just started again. The miracle he talks about is already in the past. The next six weeks decide whether it stays a one-off.