"It does not look rosy at the moment." That's Ronald Koeman on Jurrien Timber, and from a manager who needs to announce his World Cup squad on May 27, those words carry real weight.
Timber has been managing a groin injury since mid-March, with multiple failed comeback attempts already behind him. He's ramping up training this week and could potentially link up with Arsenal's first-team group before their final Premier League game at Crystal Palace — but a return for that fixture looks unlikely, and the real target is the Champions League final against PSG in Budapest on May 30.
Arsenal's right-back problem won't fix itself
The stakes couldn't be higher for Arsenal. Ben White is already out, which means without Timber, Mikel Arteta would have to deploy Cristhian Mosquera — a center-back — at right-back against a PSG side that includes Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. That's not a matchup you want to improvise. Mosquera at right-back against Kvaratskhelia in a European final is the kind of mismatch that ends up in highlight reels for the wrong reasons.
It explains why Arsenal are pushing hard to get Timber ready, even if it involves some calculated risk. A player who hasn't trained fully in weeks going straight into a Champions League final is a gamble, but the alternative might be worse.
If he doesn't make it, surgery becomes a real possibility — and that would rule him out of the World Cup entirely.
Merino is watching from the sofa, shouting at the TV
Timber isn't the only Arsenal player in a race against time. Mikel Merino is also pushing to be available for Budapest after four months out following foot surgery. He's been back in training and, to his credit, he's been refreshingly honest about what that period has cost him.
"If I'm at home then I shout at the TV which is not great with the baby sleeping next to me," he admitted. "I suffer, you can feel stressed like everyone else."
Merino looks set to miss the World Cup regardless. But if there's any chance he can contribute in the final, Arsenal will take it — their squad depth at the sharp end of the season has been tested to its limits.
For Koeman, who is also without Matthijs de Ligt, Jerdy Schouten, and Xavi Simons through injury, Timber's situation is another problem he can't solve from the dugout. He'll name his World Cup squad in three days. Right now, one of his most important defenders is training and hoping.
