Jurrien Timber hints at imminent Arsenal injury return with three-word message before Bournemouth

Jurrien Timber is on the verge of making his senior return for Arsenal after over nine months out with a serious knee injury. The summer signing damaged his ACL on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest and he is now targeting a first-team return with just a few weeks left of the season.

During his absence, Timber has spoken at length about his recovery with his return to partial training arriving in February before he was spotted in team sessions the following month. In an attempt build his match sharpness, the 22-year-old featured for Arsenal academy late last month with a 45-minute cameo and a goal coming against Blackburn

Prior to the North London Derby, Mikel Arteta suggested that Timber could feature in the matchday squad. "We have to make that decision [Saturday] after the training session. He’s very close, I don’t know if this is too early, but he’s very close now."

However, Timber continued his rehabilitation with the young Gunners as they beat Liverpool 2-0 with Timber playing 71 minutes. With that in mind, the next logical step would be for Timber to be named on the bench this weekend against Bournemouth, before a potential start the following week against Manchester United, with the player himself hinting at such.

In the latest edition of Frimmy's Colney Carpool, Timber was the guest with the defender picked up in a golf buddy following training. Upon being asked if the session was light, Timber promptly replied: "Heavy, heavy, heavy." Considering how his load has been managed in recent weeks, Timber giving such a response suggests a return is imminent.

Later on in the video uploaded to Arsenal's official website, Timber delved into his recovery from the injury. "It's going well to be honest, but it just takes time, you know, this injury, you need to be patient," he said. "Even though it's going really well, I need to do everything step by step."

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Asked if he is enjoying the latter stages of his comeback, he said: "Yeah, because I feel like I'm going somewhere. I feel like I'm coming closer every day to my goal. Every day I come to the club with this feeling, it's good. I'm enjoying it to be honest."