Feyenoord lose captain to knee injury for the rest of the season

Feyenoord captain Quinten Timber has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery on a ligament injury, his team said on Monday.

He suffered the injury in an awkward tumble last week when Feyenoord edged AC Milan 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League knockout clash in Rotterdam and did not fly with the rest of the squad to Italy for Tuesday’s rematch.

With six strikes in 18 outings, Timber has been vital for the Dutch side this campaign but he has now joined a lengthy injury list at the club, who have eight other footballers missing for the contest in Milan.

The 23-year-old Timber is the twin sibling of Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee during his Premier League opener in August 2023. He had surgery and was out of action for several months.

Forward Calvin Stengs, hurt during the 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich in January, has recovered, however, and will have some role to play on Tuesday.

Despite the setbacks, Feyenoord’s stand-in coach Pascal Bosschaart was positive about his squad’s chances at the pre-game press conference.

“We all feel for Timber, it’s a blow for everyone,” he said.

“But we are here with a strong squad. The same lineup as last week but without Timber but with Calvin Stengs. We are glad that Stengs is back in the group, he is fit for half an hour.

“We are 1-0 up, we are in a great spot to reach the next phase. AC Milan will definitely try something different than in Rotterdam, we also have to adjust for that, but we have trained well. Hopefully, our setup will pay off,” Bosschaart added.