Jurrien Timber reveals the one thing injury might have changed amid Arsenal teammates messages
Jurrien Timber is back! He's back on the pitch at least and back doing something he is not used to doing - scoring goals.
The Dutch defender made his long-awaited return from injruy as Arsenal U21s took on Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League 2 on Monday night. And it did not take him long to make his mark.
There were just seven minutes on the clock when Timber cut in from the left-hand edge of the 18-yard box and curled a delightful efort into the top corner of the net. It was a special moment for the £38million man, who picked up a knee ligament injury on his Arsenal debut against Nottingham Forest way back in August and has been out ever since.
YOU CAN WATCH JURRIEN TIMBER'S GOAL FOR THE U21s HERE
Timber managed just 45 minutes of action in that first game of the season, but he is hoping he can make it back out on to the pitch in the Premier League before the season is out. Who knows, he could even be part of the squad for the huge North London Derby this Sunday against Tottenham.
After scoring the opener in the 2-2 PL2 draw with Blackburn, the full-back revealed he had already received messages from his Arsenal teammates. Speaking after the final whistle, he said: "Oh yeah, I can’t wait [to get back into it]. The boys have been texting me already, so it’s going to be fun."
Timber is not known for his goals, managing just six in his senior career so far. But he took his strike against Blackburn like a seasoned goalscoring pro and perhaps he now has a new-found eye for goal following his injury.
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"I didn’t realise I was even scoring a goal, because I don’t score a lot, maybe that’s changed since my rehab – let’s see," he said with a smile. "But it felt amazing, it felt like everything we worked for in the eight months out.
"It’s been eight months, you know. To be honest, I still don’t really know how to feel, but just being out there feels amazing. Even now, it feels strange for me as well. It’s amazing, it’s been eight months. I feel happy, feel blessed to be out there and it was nice scoring a goal as well."
Timber is now looking forward to the run-in and helping Arsenal to achieve "something beuatiful". He added: "I think we’re doing really well. The last couple of weeks have been tough, obviously out of the Champions League, but we’re still in the mix, we’re still there [in the Premier League]. I’m glad that I can be a part of it and let’s see what the last couple of weeks can bring. I hope something beautiful."