Arsenal star set to miss Bayer Leverkusen clash due to injury - Reports

Arsenal are reportedly set to be without defender Jurrien Timber for their pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen. The two sides will face off at the Emirates Stadium later tonight (Wednesday, August 7).

Timber joined the Gunners from Ajax for a reported fee of €40 million last summer. However, he played just two games across competitions before suffering an ACL injury in the first Premier League game of the 2023-24 season. He then returned in the final game of the season against Everton.

Timber has featured in all of their pre-season friendlies so far this summer. However, as per journalist Gary Jacobs (via Caught Offside), the Dutchman will miss the game against Bayer Leverkusen. He replied to a post on X:

"Timber has been struggling with a load-bearing injury"

Arsenal will hope it's nothing more than a precaution, having seen him miss almost the entire last season.

After facing Bayer Leverkusen, the Gunners will host Olympique Lyon in the Emirates Cup on August 11. They will then begin their competitive campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers at home in the Premier League on August 17.

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Jurrien Timber on how Mikel Arteta helped him through his injury at Arsenal

Jurrien Timber faced a major disappointment as he suffered an ACL injury on his Premier League debut for the Gunners last season. However, he's now returned and impressed during pre-season.

The Dutch defender recently spoke about the disappointment of the injury and how Mikel Arteta and the staff helped him through it. He said (via Goal):

"Last year when we were here he [Mikel Arteta] was very supportive already. And I have to say during my injury as well. It helps to have such a manager like him. Obviously it is [a big blow getting injured after moving to Arsenal], especially at the start.

"I have to say, at the same time, I just moved to another club, I moved to Arsenal. You have to look at how lucky you are as well, and that is the way I looked at it last year. I had time to work with some fantastic physios, I had good people around me and my team-mates were great."

Timber also reflected on Arsenal's Premier League title challenges over the last two seasons. He said that they need to be perfect to beat Manchester City, saying:

"You said almost perfect, this season we need to make it perfect. Hopefully we are going to end up with some prizes at the end of the season. Lets see, we start from here in the USA, we have some nice games ahead and then we go."

The Gunners finished second behind Manchester City in the English top-flight in the last two seasons.