Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber is still "weeks away" from making his return after suffering the effects of a persistent groin injury, Mikel Arteta has revealed.

Timber initially suffered the issue during a win over Everton in March, causing him to miss the end of the Gunners' Premier League title-winning campaign.

He returned to come off the bench in their Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in May, but a recurrence of the injury then caused him to withdraw from the Netherlands' World Cup squad.

Speaking after Arsenal's 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup on Sunday, Arteta was asked about the condition of Timber and fellow defender William Saliba.

Saliba is expected to miss several months with a back injury he sustained while representing France at the World Cup, and though Timber should be back sooner than his team-mate, he will also miss the start of Arsenal's season.

"I cannot be very precise with that. Jurrien is progressing really well," Arteta said.

"He's on the pitch and doing quite a lot right now but is still weeks away – I cannot tell you how much.

"Willy is in rest mode at the moment. For two weeks, he had to do almost nothing so he did not aggravate the injury. 

"It's going to take some time to heal, and as soon as we have more news, we will inform you."

Timber played 44 games in all competitions for Arsenal last season, with 37 of those being starts – a slight drop from his 48 appearances (42 starts) in 2024-25.

His first season with the Gunners, in 2023-24, was blighted by a long-term knee injury, restricting him to just three matches.

With Timber and Saliba out, Arteta fielded a back four of Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori versus Dortmund, with Piero Hincapie the only senior defensive option on the bench.

In recent days, Arsenal have been linked with a surprise swoop for Tottenham centre-back Cristian Romero, while Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa is another reported defensive target.

Arsenal face Como in their final pre-season friendly on Wednesday, before taking on Manchester City in Sunday's Community Shield matchup at Wembley.

Coventry City are their first Premier League opponents of 2026-27, with Frank Lampard's newly promoted side visiting the Emirates Stadium on August 21.