Huge boost for Arsenal! Jurrien Timber scores beautiful goal just nine minutes into his return from eight-month ACL injury layoff

Timber made the starting XI in Arsenal's Premier League 2 clash with Blackburn Rovers, the "last big step" after a lengthy rehab for one of football's worst injuries. And his first game back went swimmingly, as he scored just nine minutes into the game.

Timber was substituted just 50 minutes into his Premier League debut on the opening day of the season in August, suffering the dreaded injury during Arsenal's 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest. He had earlier started the Gunners' Community Shield victory over Manchester City at Wembley, playing left-back both times. The Dutchman was back in training by February.

"He's going to play a game with the [Under] 23s and after that we will see better how he feels," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had said of Timber last week. "He looks really good in training, but it's that last big step. We need to see if he's ready and how it's going to go."

Timber's involvement against Blackburn will help indicate his fitness levels and will be the first step towards potentially returning to first-team action before the end of the season - Arsenal have just five games left as they focus all their attention on claiming a first Premier League title in 20 years. Ultimately, Timber should be in a good place by the time pre-season training for 2024-25 begins in July and will effectively be like a new signing all over again.