Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will be out until after the November international break, as more details about his knee injury have emerged.
Odegaard who has become an important player in Mikel Arteta’s setup came off in the first half of the Gunners’ 2-0 win at home to West Ham after hurting his medial collateral ligament.
The midfielder was promptly ruled out of Norway’s World Cup qualifier against Israel last week and Tuesday’s friendly clash with New Zealand. Now Odegaard is set to miss Arsenal’s next six matches as well as two more games for his country next month.
Martin Odegaard goes down with an injury during the Premier League match between Arsenal and West Ham United. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Arsenal play Fulham, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Sunderland in the Premier League before the next set of internationals. They’re also in Champions League action, facing Atletico Madrid and Slavia Prague.
Odegaard joins summer signing Noni Madueke on the sidelines, who’s also out with a knee injury.
According to BBC Sport, Medical staff at Arsenal hope to have their skipper back available following the November internationals.
The absence of Odegaard could give Eberechi Eze a chance to play in the No.10 role. Arteta has recently welcomed Bukayo Saka back from injury, as he scored in the victory over West Ham which sent Arsenal top of the Premier League table.
Odegaard returned home to Norway and met up with his international team-mates for lunch before attending Saturday’s 5-0 win against Israel which puts them on the brink of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1998.
“He was here and watched a bit (of training), and had a nice lunch with the guys,” Norway boss Stale Solbakken revealed. “Martin is a big part of us, he is our captain even though he doesn’t play.
“We would have liked to have him on the field, but he is a good man off it. A nice guy who can talk football, and can talk about everything else. He is a security factor for the group.”
