Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber will miss the World Cup after the Netherlands decided his groin injury had not healed sufficiently to play. The 24-year-old, who returned from a three-month layoff to feature in the Champions League final, has been replaced in Ronald Koeman's squad by Lutsharel Geertruida.
Timber had been out since mid-March with a groin problem but came on as a 66th-minute substitute against Paris St-Germain in Budapest on 30 May – his first appearance since a 2-0 win over Everton on 14 March. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta declared him “fit” before that final, but the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said on Monday that Timber had “not recovered sufficiently” to take part in the tournament in a “medically responsible manner”.
“Arsenal's Jurrien Timber is out of the World Cup with a groin injury, replaced by Lutsharel Geertruida.”
“In consultation with the medical staff, it has therefore been decided that Timber will leave the national team's pre-camp in New York after the [friendly] game against Uzbekistan,” the KNVB added. The Dutchman, capped 23 times since his debut in June 2021, now faces a summer of rehabilitation instead of a World Cup campaign.
Koeman has called up Geertruida, a 25-year-old who spent last season on loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig. The Netherlands open their Group F campaign against Japan on 14 June, followed by games against Sweden and Tunisia. The Oranje reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024, losing to England in the last minute.
Timber’s absence is the latest blow in a stop-start Arsenal career since his £34m move from Ajax in summer 2023. He was injured on his debut, ruling him out for much of that season, and sustained the groin injury in Arsenal’s home win against Everton in March. He returned for the Champions League final, replacing Cristhian Mosquera just after the hour mark, but could not prevent a penalty shootout defeat to PSG.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Neymar has been given a boost in his own race to be fit for the World Cup. The 34-year-old, Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 128 appearances, suffered a grade-two calf tear last month and was expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks. A further scan on Monday showed “good progress” in his recovery, the Brazilian Football Confederation said, adding that the exam “showed good progress within expected parameters”. Neymar has missed Brazil’s warm-up wins over Panama and Egypt and faces a race to be ready for their opening Group game against Morocco on 13 June. The former Barcelona and PSG playmaker, who returned to Santos in early 2025, has been dogged by injuries in recent seasons, including a ruptured ACL and meniscus in his left knee against Uruguay in October 2023. He is hoping to appear at his fourth World Cup, having played in 2014, 2018 and 2022.