Arsenal‘s Jurriën Timber won’t represent the Netherlands against Germany, after new manager Xavi left him out of the squad.
Ronald Koeman stepped down from his role after the World Cup and Xavi was appointed as his successor.
The Spaniard has called up the defender for the ongoing international break, despite his limited role with Arsenal this season.
Timber suffered an ankle injury in March that kept him on the sidelines for 52 days. He returned to action in the Gunners’ Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on May 30th.
However, the Dutchman then picked up a groin injury. He missed the World Cup, the pre-season and the start of the season with the Premier League winners.
After spending 103 days on the sidelines, the defender returned to the pitch earlier this month. He made two appearances for Mikel Arteta’s side and also made it Xavi’s squad.
Arsenal man sent to stands
Xavi has selected 26 players for this international break where the national team have four UEFA Nations League matches.
The Netherlands will face Germany later today and as per the UEFA regulations, Xavi can select a maximum of 23 players.
He has to drop three players, and NU and several others are reporting the manager has left the Arsenal man, Gjivai Zechiël and Kenneth Taylor out of the squad. The trio will watch this fixture from the stands.
The 25-year-old’s omission is ‘no surprise’ because he didn’t train on Monday and Tuesday and ‘just recovered from a groin injury’. On Wednesday, Sport Witness relayed news that Timber joined training yesterday.
Oranje face Germany, Serbia [twice] and Greece during this international break. Timber can have opportunities to enjoy minutes in the three other matches.
Netherlands squad to face Germany
On Thursday morning, UEFA, as per NU, have released the national team list for the clash against Germany.
Xavi’s squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Defender: Nathan Aké (Fenerbahçe), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Real Madrid), Jeremie Frimpong (Liverpool), Lutsharel Geertruida (PSV), Jorrel Hato (Chelsea), Jan Paul van Hecke (Tottenham Hotspur), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Tijjani Reijnders (Al Qadsiah), Quinten Timber (Crystal Palace), Joey Veerman (Borussia Dortmund), Guus Til (PSV)
Attackers: Ruben van Bommel (PSV), Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Noa Lang (Napoli), Crysencio Summerville (Al Hilal), Mexx Meerdink (AZ)
