Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard could be out for an extended period according to Mikel Arteta. The Gunners’ Captain picked up an injury during the international break with Norway and was seen in crutches.
The midfielder was expected to miss a few weeks with the injury but it now looks like he might be out for much longer. After their Nations League game against Austria, Odegaard underwent an MRI to assess the extent of the ankle injury.
Norway boss Stale and team doctor Ola Sand initially believed it to be a minor sprain:
“He got a small ankle sprain. We will see, maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow.” Sand told TV2.
Arteta gives update on Martin Odegaard injury
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gave an update on the club captain in the press conference ahead of the game against Atalanta:
“After recent scans the scans showed that he’s got some damage especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle,”
“I don’t want to [give a timeline] because I am not a doctor but it is something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months. Let’s see.
“He’s our captain. He’s been one of the biggest and best players in our team. Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It’s a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face.”
Arsenal will now be without Odegaard joins Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), Kieran Tierney (hamstring) and Mikel Merino (shoulder).
The good news for Arteta is that Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori will be available:
“Riccardo was able to train today and he will be in the squad.
Saka was able to train today and completed most of the session so he’s available.”
Man City playing on Wednesday will not be an advantage
Arsenal play in Italy on Thursday night, while Manchester City host Inter Milan in England. Both teams face off on Sunday, and the Premier League champions will benefit from a day’s rest.
Mikel Arteta believes this will not be the case, as the Gunners are coming off the back of a great result against Spurs on Sunday:
“Hopefully not. Hopefully we have the energy still from what happened on Sunday [winning at Tottenham]. We have recovered a few players which is very important for us and we play a competition which we absolutely love, so we look at the positives.”
