Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has taken his next steps in his ongoing recovery from an ACL injury suffered on his Premier League debut back in August.

Timber lasted just 50 minutes of his league bow for the Gunners following an initial £34m transfer from Ajax that catapulted him into the top ten of the most expensive Dutch players in history.

It has been more than six months since then, but football.london carried a positive update on Thursday with news that Timber has progressed beyond individual rehab to join in with some aspects of group training. However, the 22-year-old is yet to return to full training.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had already confirmed earlier this month this step was coming.

“He’s been around some players on the pitch and we are going to start to do some bits with us in the next week or so. Then we need to see how that evolves, his confidence levels, his fitness levels.”

The Gunners boss also expressed hope that Timber would play again this season.

Despite the loss of an expensive addition to their squad, Arsenal have maintained another Premier League title challenge this season to prove that 2022/23 was no flash in the pan. Arteta’s side sit third in the table, but only two points separate the entire top three, with only Liverpool and Manchester City ahead and the final stretch of the campaign coming into view.

At their current rate of points per game, Arsenal are on course to match last season’s tally of 84, their highest since the ‘Invincibles’ clinched the title in 2003/04. It means they will need to step it up another level, but the Gunners do have a favourable run-in in April and May.