Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber “hopes” that he will be able to play some part during the run-in before the end of the season, according to the Evening Standard.
The Dutchman was pictured back in full training on Wednesday but it is believed that he wasn’t involved in all of the training drills.
Timber is doing work individually to build up his own fitness and he joined the rest of the group to take part in selected sessions.
The Standard claim that Timber is “still a way away” from making an appearance for the first team despite training with the squad.
The medical staff will be careful managing Timber’s return
Anterior cruciate ligament injuries usually take 9 to 10 months to recover from, but Timber has only been out for just over 6 months, after being forced off on his home debut against Nottingham Forest in August.
For that reason, the Gunners’ medical team won’t allow the defender to be thrown back into action straight away.
It’s likely that we will see Timber play for the Under 21s over the coming weeks before he is made available for selection. Based on current information, an appearance for the first team after the next international break is probably realistic.
An Arsenal injury update
In addition to Timber, Thomas Partey was also seen in training on Wednesday which indicates that he will be on the bench when Arsenal take on Sheffield United next week.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takeihiro Tomiyasu are also hopeful of being included in the travelling party for the trip to Bramall Lane.
At the moment, it is believed that Zinchenko is closest to making his return to action. The Ukrainian international has not played since picking up a calf injury in the 3-1 win over Liverpool at the start of February.
