Jurrien Timber made his comeback from injury for an u21 fixture on Monday night, scoring a fantastic goal within minutes of his reintroduction.

Jurrien Timber celebrates his goal for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)
Jurrien Timber celebrates his goal for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)

Arsenal summer signing Jurrien Timber spent over eight months on the sidelines rehabilitating after an ACL injury, but he finally got a chance back out on the pitch for a game on Monday night.

Timber made a start for the Arsenal u21s against Blackburn Rovers, and just eight minutes into the game he marked his comeback with an excellent goal.

Picking up the ball on the left-hand side of the box, Timber turned before curling a finish into the top corner.

Timber could have had a second later in the half as a deflected effort from the edge of the box left the goalkeeper scrambling, but it went narrowly wide for a corner.

Throughout the first half, Timber played very positive football, looking to find the wingers with long passes and playing nice one-touch football from his inverted left-back role.

The 22-year-old tired as the half went on, and he was replaced in a pre-planned substitution at the break, but it was an encouraging cameo for his comeback.

Jurrien Timber celebrates his goal for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)
Jurrien Timber celebrates his goal for the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)

“It’s been great having him and the lads gave him a round of applause in our pre-match meeting,” Arsenal u21 manager Mehmet Ali said afterwards.

“It’s never easy to be a professional footballer and suffer the injury that he had and miss a lot of football.

“He’s come into a new country and it’s been difficult for him but since his return, he’s been excellent. Whether that’s been training with the first team or training with us, he’s been a real good role model for the younger players and his performance showed that this evening.

“He scored a very good goal showing tremendous ability to execute that finish. His decision-making and his whole performance for 45 minutes was very strong and the players will learn a lot through watching him.”

Mehmet Ali coaching the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal.com)
Mehmet Ali coaching the Arsenal u21s (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Timber then spoke to the Arsenal club website himself, expressing his delight to be back.

“It’s been eight months, to be honest I stilll don’t really know how to feel,” Timber said.

“Just being out there feels amazing, but even now it feels strange. I feel happy and blessed to be out there and it’s nice to score a goal as well.”

As for the goal, Timber admitted it even took him by surprise.

“I didn’t even realise I was scoring a goal,” Timber said. “I don’t score a lot of goals! Maybe that’s changed after my rehab, let’s see. It felt like a reward for the eight months hard work.”

Jurrien Timber in training with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium (Photo via Arsenal on Twitter)
Jurrien Timber in training with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium (Photo via Arsenal on Twitter)

Of course, the question on Arsenal fan lips now is when we might see Timber in action for the first team.

“I can’t wait,” Timber said of a potential first-team comeback. “The season is almost finished, we have a couple more games, and the boys have been texting me already. It’s going to be fun, I think.”