Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman has expressed concern over defender Jurrien Timber's World Cup prospects, though he remains hopeful that star striker Memphis Depay will be fit for next month's tournament.
Timber's injury setback
Arsenal's Timber has been sidelined since mid-March with a groin injury, leaving his chances of making the Dutch squad uncertain. Koeman described his recovery as a "rollercoaster ride." He told Dutch television on Monday: "He is training again to see if he can make the Champions League final, and be available for the World Cup, but it does not look rosy at the moment."
Timber is running out of time to prove his fitness ahead of a crucial period for club and country. Arsenal will play their final Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace on Sunday, with the chance to seal their first title in 22 years. Six days later, they will face PSG in the Champions League final in Budapest, where Mikel Arteta hopes Timber can return at right back after Ben White suffered a significant leg injury earlier this month against West Ham.
Depay's recovery path
Koeman is more optimistic about Depay's World Cup hopes. The 32-year-old, the Netherlands' record scorer with 55 goals, suffered a thigh injury in late March and has not played for his Brazilian club Corinthians since. Koeman outlined the striker's path back to full fitness: "He still has three matches with Corinthians before we get together as the Dutch national team. He really needs to get minutes in those matches. I assume that will happen, and if everything goes well, he might even play 90 minutes in the final match. After that, we still have two weeks until our first World Cup match against Japan."
Dutch squad concerns
The Dutch are already without three injured players for the World Cup – defender Matthijs de Ligt, midfielder Jerdy Schouten and forward Xavi Simons. They will compete in Group F against Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia when the tournament gets underway next month. Netherlands were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions Argentina in 2022, but will hope to go further this time around.
