Ronald Koeman Worried Over Timber, Hopeful Depay Will Return for World Cup

Timber’s World Cup status in doubt

Ronald Koeman fears Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber could miss the World Cup. The Dutch are already without de Ligt, Schouten, and Simons as they prepare for Group F matches vs Sweden and Tunisia.

Koeman doubts Timber will be fit for World Cup as Netherlands face injury woes...

Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said he was worried defender Jurrien Timber might miss the World Cup, though he remains hopeful that top scorer Memphis Depay will recover in time for next month’s tournament.

Arsenal’s Timber has been out since mid-March with a groin injury. Koeman said the defender’s chances of making the Dutch squad are uncertain.

“Jurrien has been dealing with this for quite some time. It has been a rollercoaster ride,” Koeman 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.”

Depay expected back soon

Koeman expects Depay to return to action in the coming weeks before linking up with the Dutch national team.

The 32-year-old striker, who is the Netherlands' record scorer with 55 goals, picked up a thigh injury at the end of March. He has not played for his Brazilian club Corinthians since.

“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.”

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The Dutch will already be without three injured players at the World Cup. Defender Matthijs de Ligt, midfielder Jerdy Schouten, and attacker Xavi Simons have all been ruled out. The Netherlands also face Sweden and Tunisia in Group F.