Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has been left out of Netherlands' provisional squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures next month.
Timber has not featured for the Gunners since before the most recent international break and his exclusion from the Dutch squad cast doubt on his involvement in Arsenal's huge Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday.
Prior to this setback, the 23-year-old was a mainstay in Mikel Arteta's starting unit and impressed for the north London club, having returned to full fitness this term following a knee issue which essentially ruled him out of the entire of his debut campaign.
His absence against the Reds would provide Arteta with yet another selection headache, as the likes of Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori are also facing a race against time to be fit for the Emirates clash.
Ahead of the game, Arteta remained coy on how the defender is progressing and refused to rule him out of the game entirely.
'He has had the first session he could have some involvement with.' The Spaniard told reporters. 'He has been out for a while. We expected him to be further back than where he is at the moment, but again we have to wait and see.'
Liverpool will arrive in London with the chance to open up a seven-point gap over the Gunners with a win. The Reds currently sit top of the table and have been in impressive form under new head coach Arne Slot.
Arsenal have had to make do without Saka for their last two matches; a defeat and narrow victory, and the Gunners boss will be keenly aware of what his side will miss if they take the field without the England star.
Arteta was able to share some good news for Gunners supporters regarding Saka, as he revealed that the winger has been able to participate in some training.
‘He’s (Saka) done a bit of training on the grass. How far we can get him before Sunday is another question. We have another day which is a good thing, because this week we had an extra day. We will see.’ He said.
Arsenal will be without William Saliba, who has a one-match ban following his red card in the 2-0 defeat by Bournemouth last weekend, while Martin Odegaard is not expected back until after the international break.
The Gunners are also sweating over the fitness of Bukayo Saka, who suffered a hamstring injury while on international duty with England
Timber missed out on a Netherlands squad that includes several Premier League stars including Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and Matthjis de Light.
Ronald Koeman's side face Hungary on November 16 before taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina three days later.