Jurrien Timber's fitness continues to be managed carefully after he did not feature in the Netherlands' win over Serbia.
The Arsenal defender missed almost the entirety of the final three months of last season, returning only to come off the bench in the Champions League final. Timber then pulled out of his country's World Cup squad and underwent minor groin surgery over the summer, delaying his start to the new season.
Managed return to action
His first start of the campaign came in the defeat to Brighton and Timber then joined up with the Dutch squad. The 25-year-old was on a specific training programme over the first couple of days of the international break and the Dutch medical staff have been in close contact with Arsenal.
Timber started against Greece last week, but he was then an unused substitute for the win over Serbia on Sunday night. That is not believed to be a cause for concern.
Timber on his fitness plan
Timber told De Telegraaf ahead of the match that the medical team had made it clear they did not want to take risks with his fitness.
“I have to be very smart about the steps we take, otherwise I’ll suffer a setback and I don’t want that,” Timber said. “I want to play every game and take part in every training session. But the physios advise me on what’s best for me. So I need to listen to them carefully.”
Playing time and fatigue
Timber's start against Greece was at centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk. He played 77 minutes, the most he has managed in a match since getting through the full 90 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen on March 11.
Speaking after the game in Greece, Timber admitted he was feeling the effects of it. “I am tired,” Timber said. “I have obviously been out for a while, but I need to regain my rhythm and get fit now. It wasn’t great. Very sloppy, we lost a lot of duels. But I look at myself first. Ultimately, I am happy that we came back, but the first half wasn’t good enough.”
