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Netherlands defensive stalwart Jurriën Timber has been withdrawn from the 2026 FIFA World Cup due to a persistent groin injury, the squad confirmed on Monday.
The fullback had been included in the Dutch squad and the final pre-tournament training camp in hopes of making a full recovery; however, his rehabilitation has not progressed at a sufficient pace to make him tournament-ready. He is now set to depart the training camp following Monday's friendly against Uzbekistan, which the Netherlands won 2–1. He will be replaced by fellow defender Lutsharel Geertruida, as teams are permitted to make injury-related substitutions up to 24 hours before their opening World Cup fixture.
"The 24-year-old defender has not recovered sufficiently from a groin injury to take part in the World Cup in a medically responsible manner," the team stated earlier Monday. "In consultation with the medical staff, it has therefore been decided that Timber will leave the national team's pre-camp in New York after the game against Uzbekistan."
Timber sustained the injury roughly three months ago while playing for club side Arsenal, causing him to miss the remainder of the domestic season as the Gunners completed their historic Premier League title run. He returned to action in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute for right back Cristhian Mosquera. Timber featured for nearly an hour in the eventual defeat to PSG, including 30 minutes of extra time before the penalty shootout. Such a demanding return to competitive football likely hampered his recovery progress.
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Manager Ronald Koeman Addresses Timber's Exit
"Over the past few days, we already had a sense that this would be the outcome," Koeman told Dutch broadcaster NOS. "We ultimately sat down with Jurriën late last night and again this morning, and regrettably we had to arrive at this conclusion.
"With Jurriën in the squad, we have eight defenders; without him, there are seven, and that's simply not enough. A decision had to be made. Geertruida was with the group right up until the match against Algeria, so bringing him back in shouldn't be too difficult.
"We couldn't wait any longer because his condition wasn't expected to improve in the near future...He hasn't been fully fit for quite some time and is still experiencing symptoms that aren't clearing up quickly, meaning he won't be match-ready in the short term."
25-year-old Geertruida, who featured for Sunderland during last season, was part of the Netherlands' most recent March international window, made a 20-minute appearance in the friendly against Algeria on June 3, and has accumulated 21 caps for the national side.
The Netherlands kick off their World Cup campaign against Group F opponents Japan on June 14, before facing Sweden on June 20 and Tunisia on June 25. The Oranje are widely regarded as strong favorites to top Group F.