Why Arsenal star Jurrien Timber has been ruled out of the Netherlands’ games against Spain | Football

Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber missed the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Spain through illness and will play no part in this weekend’s reverse fixture, it has been confirmed.

Ronald Koeman named Timber in his 24-man party for the two-legged Nations League quarter-final, along with fellow Premier League stars Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Matthijs de Ligt and Patrick Kluivert.

But Timber was left out of Koeman’s matchday squad on Thursday evening at Feyenoord’s De Kuip, where his Arsenal team-mate, Mikel Merino, scrambled home a dramatic late equaliser for Spain.

It emerged that Timber had come down with a sickness bug in the build-up to the Rotterdam clash and Koeman decided against risking the 23-year-old for the quarter-final first leg.

To make matters worse for the Dutch, Koeman’s left-back on the night, Jorrel Hato, was shown a red card in the 81st minute, meaning he will be suspended for Sunday’s contest in Valencia.

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Timber would have been the natural replacement for Hato but the Dutch FA confirmed on Friday that the versatile defender will not recover in time to feature.

Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen has been added to the Netherlands’ squad as cover.

Prior to the quarter-final first leg, Timber opened up on how he had been making an effort to ‘listen to his body more’ in the wake of the serious knee injury he suffered in 2023.

‘After my cruciate ligament injury, I listen to my body even more,’ he explained.

‘Communication with the medical staff and the coach is very important. The trainer has to know how I feel, I want to be open and honest about that.

‘But no one is completely pain-free in football. The knee feels very good, that is not a problem. But there are aches and pains, of course they are there.’

Timber wasn’t the only fitness concern to arise from Thursday’s action from an Arsenal perspective, with Riccardo Calafiori suffering a worrying-looking knee injury during Italy’s Nations League defeat quarter-final first leg loss to Germany.

‘He said that his knee feels strange,’ Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti said when asked for an update on Calafiori at his post-match press conference.

‘But I cannot answer more precisely than that, so we’ll have to see.’

The player himself was unable to provide any significant updates on the injury, telling nearby reporters, ‘ I still don’t know’, as he made his way out of the San Siro.

Mikel Arteta will no doubt be keeping tabs on the fitness of both players ahead of Arsenal’s return to Premier League action at home to Fulham on April 1.

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