Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad, raising concerns over his injury.
Timber, who limped off during the first half against Everton last weekend, was absent from the matchday squad on Sunday at Wembley as the Gunners lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City, having also missed Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 second leg win over Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.
Hopes were raised on Friday when the versatile defender was named in Ronald Koeman’s 26-man Netherlands squad for pre-World Cup friendlies against Norway and Ecuador, but has now been withdrawn and replaced by Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida.
A statement from the Dutch FA read: “Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida has been added to the Netherlands national team squad by national coach Ronald Koeman. This follows the withdrawal of Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), who has not yet sufficiently recovered from an injury and is therefore unavailable for this international break.
“The 26-man squad reports to Zeist on Monday evening to prepare for the two friendly matches against Norway and Ecuador. The Netherlands plays Norway on Friday, March 27, at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, and Ecuador on Tuesday, March 31, at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven. Both matches start at 20:45.”
Timber follows Eberechi Eze and William Saliba in withdrawing from international duty, with England and France respectively, while Martin Odegaard was not named in Norway’s squad for the March internationals.
Speaking before the game, Arteta said of Timber and Odegaard: “They couldn't make [the final], so I think they will still be a couple of weeks [away from returning].
“Let's see after the international break if we have anybody back.”
