Mikel Arteta's Jurrien Timber injury update is as bittersweet as they come

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta claims that Jurrien Timber is still 'weeks away' from making a full recovery from his injury.

Timber missed the entirety of the World Cup due to a groin issue which has been bothering him for a while. He has also missed the entire pre-season for Arsenal, and a return date has not been announced by anyone yet.

It is a cause of concern for the manager, and he was asked about the player after Arsenal's shock loss to Borussia Dortmund over the weekend.

Speaking on the player, the coach gave a very bitersweet update. He said: "I cannot be very precise with that. Jurrien is progressing really well, he's on the pitch, he's doing quite a lot right now, but is still weeks away. I cannot say how much."

The most important thing is for Jurrien Timber to be progressing well, which he is

Those are the things that matter the most: Timber is making a recovery and progressing from it in a very good way. Being on the pitch is usually a sign of good things to come, as players usually start playing a bit after that, depending on the severity of the injury.

Arsenal also would want to take it slow and play it as safely as possible with Timber so that the injury does not get aggravated, which is probably why Arteta does not want to talk about a return date.

That being said, it is still a bad situation that the best right-back that the club has to offer is still 'weeks away' from returning from injury. Arsenal would have to rely on a very injury-prone Ben White. They can't rely on Cristhian Mosquera, either, because William Saliba is still injured, and Mosquera is a good like-for-like replacement for him on the right hand side.

That is what makes this situation so difficult. Arsenal probably do not want to sign a new star full-back, because Ben White is a good back-up and Timber, when fit, is one of the best full-backs in the world.

However, with Saliba also out for a while, it remains to be seen whether Arsenal would invest in a short-term right-back just as an emergency in the coming days. White would also need some cover in that position, as he cannot play every single minute until Timber returns, which is what makes this situation so tricky.

Who knows? Maybe Timber is closer to his return than fans think, and Arteta just does not want to put any pressure on the Dutch full-back. In that case, Arsenal can do without signing one. But, if they actually need a player for a decent amount of time, they must act quickly.

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