Arsenal injury news: Mikel Arteta issues Jurrien Timber, William Saliba updates before Community Shield

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that Jurrien Timber is still a matter of weeks away from returning to action following a serious groin injury.

The Dutchman was absent once again as Arsenal lost 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup on Sunday, alongside fellow right-sided defender William Saliba.

The latter is already known to be missing months of matches owing to a long-term back problem, which he exacerbated during France's loss to Spain in the World Cup semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Timber briefly returned from a groin injury in time for the Champions League final, but the right-back then had to withdraw from the Netherlands' World Cup squad to undergo a complete recovery process.

Timber also left Arsenal's training camp in Spain after initially travelling with the squad, and speaking to journalists in Sunday's press conference, Arteta confessed that the 25-year-old is still a while away from a comeback.

Jurrien Timber "weeks away" from Arsenal return

"No, I cannot be very precise with that," Arteta replied when asked if he could put a timeframe on Timber and Saliba's recoveries. "Jurrien is progressing really well. He's on the pitch, he's doing quite a lot right now, but it's still weeks away. I cannot tell you how much."

Timber will therefore be unavailable for next week's Community Shield clash with Manchester City in Cardiff, in addition to early Premier League fixtures against Cardiff City, Aston Villa and most likely Chelsea.

Also providing an in-depth update on Saliba, Arteta was again loath to give an estimated comeback date, adding: "William Saliba is in rest mode at the moment for two weeks.

"He had to do almost nothing, an aggravated injury, so it's going to take some time to heal. We know that. And as soon as we have more news, we can inform you."

In brighter news, David Raya and Bukayo Saka are both back in Arsenal training following their World Cup holidays, and the pair could be in contention to face Como in Wednesday's final friendly.

Do Arsenal need to sign another defender?

With no Saliba and no Timber in the squad, Arteta deployed Ben White at right-back and Cristhian Mosquera at right centre-back from the first whistle in the Emirates Cup.

However, the latter was partially at fault for Dortmund's first goal, as he failed to notice Samuele Inacio's blindside run as the teenager latched onto Felix Nmecha's through ball to fire home.

The Gunners have now conceded six goals in their last two friendly games after also shipping three to Real Betis, although individual errors from Kepa Arrizabalaga and Kai Havertz were to blame for the latter result.

White's fitness record and Mosquera's inexperience nevertheless means that a new right-sided defender should be targeted in the remaining weeks, but Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero appears unattainable.