Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber felt "happy and blessed" to mark his long-awaited competitive comeback with a stunning goal for the club's Under-21s on Monday evening.
The Netherlands international spent over eight months on the treatment table with the ACL injury he sustained on his Premier League debut, although Mikel Arteta was always positive that he would be back before the campaign was over.
Timber's rehabilitation went to plan, and the 22-year-old has been training with the first team for a few weeks without any complications, thereby getting the green light to play for the youth team against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
Timber started as the Under-21s' left-back and made a brilliant impact with just eight minutes on the clock, opening up his body in the left-hand side of the box and curling in a beautiful strike to open the scoring.
The summer signing completed 45 minutes of that 2-2 draw in the Premier League 2, and a senior comeback in Sunday's North London derby with Tottenham Hotspur has not been ruled out.
An absolute beauty from Timber 🔥
— Arsenal Academy (@ArsenalAcademy) April 22, 2024
📺 Tune in LIVE on https://t.co/l2yjijDAhy #AFCU21 | #PL2 pic.twitter.com/ORnISJtYrO
Timber admits "strange" feeling over comeback goal
Speaking to Arsenal's media channels after his successful return to Gunners action, Timber admitted that it felt somewhat surreal to mark the occasion with a wonder strike, but he felt "blessed" to just be on the pitch again after his arduous recovery process.
"It's been eight months, it's been a long time and it's hard to put into words how I feel. Just being out there feels amazing, and even now it feels strange. But I feel happy and blessed to be out there and it's nice to score a goal as well," Timber said.
"Honestly, even that [the goal] felt strange. I didn't quite register it at first, probably because I don't score a lot of goals. Maybe that's changed after all the rehab. But it felt amazing and a reward to the hard work of the past eight months."
After rising to prominence at Ajax, where he thrived across the backline but mostly made a name for himself as a right-back and centre-back, Timber is being tipped to become Arsenal's first-choice on the left-hand side for the 2024-25 season and beyond.
Both Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko have struggled for consistency this season, while the versatile Takehiro Tomiyasu impressed in that position against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena but cannot be relied upon to avoid injuries.
Timber reveals texts with senior Arsenal teammates
💬 "I feel happy, I feel blessed to be back out there and it was nice to score a goal."
— Arsenal Academy (@ArsenalAcademy) April 23, 2024
🎙️ Jurrien on making his long-awaited return from injury 👇
Arteta is not sure whether the 22-year-old will be fit for the North London derby this weekend, but he is expected to make at least one more senior appearance this season as Arsenal maintain their push for a first title in 20 years.
"I can't wait, the season is almost finished, we've got a few more games left and I hope to be a part of the team for the final few matches. The lads have already been texting me, so it's going to be fun," Timber added.
"Overall, I think we've performed well. The last couple of weeks have been tough, but, we are still in the mix and have every chance to win it. I'm glad that I can finally be part of it. Let's see what the next couple of weeks bring, I hope it's something beautiful."
Having taken part in Under-21s action on Monday, Timber will not be involved in Tuesday's Premier League clash with Chelsea, where victory will take the Gunners three points clear of Liverpool and four clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
Ben Knapton
