Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has sustained a knee injury and will be out of action for up to six weeks, meaning he will miss a number of games for the Premier League leaders
Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard is set to be out of action until after the November international break due to an MCL injury he picked up in the Gunners' recent 2-0 triumph over West Ham. The Norwegian star was forced to pull out from his national team squad, and now there's some clarity on when he might return.
According to BBC Sport, Odegaard isn't expected back until the latter stages of November. If he's unavailable for the full six weeks, he'll miss seven Arsenal matches.
The Gunners are back in Premier League action this Saturday as they head to Fulham, before hosting Atletico Madrid in a Champions League match.
They then welcome Crystal Palace and Brighton to the Emirates for high-profile clashes, before heading north to Burnley and then jetting off to Slavia Prague for another Champions League fixture, followed by a hefty trip to Sunderland on 8th November.
Club football will then pause again for international fixtures, during which Norway could secure their spot in next summer's World Cup. They'll host Estonia before heading to Italy, though they could already have qualified by the time that match rolls around.
Odegaard is eager to get back into the action, but he's also cautious about rushing his return and risking further injury. The first game after the November international break is Tottenham at home (November 23), too, so the skipper will be desperate to feature there.
In the meantime, Arsenal are well-equipped in the midfield with Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri ready to step in for Odegaard. Mikel Merino could also join forces with Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi in the Gunners' midfield.
It's a pivotal time for Arsenal, but they've hit the ground running and have only suffered one defeat across all competitions.
They're currently leading the Premier League and have bagged maximum points from their first two Champions League matches.
Last week, Odegaard returned to Norway to support his international team-mates in their match against Israel.
After the match, the 26-year-old chose not to join the raucous locker room celebrations, fearing it might worsen his knee injury.
Norway's manager, Stale Solbakken, said after the game: "It wasn't that easy to get into that locker room after the game. He was terrified of sticking his knee into those scenes there!"
Seven Arsenal matches Martin Odegaard could potentially miss:
Saturday, 18 October - Fulham (a).
Tuesday, 21 October - Atletico Madrid (h).
Sunday, 26 October - Crystal Palace (h).
Wednesday, 29 October - Brighton and Hove Albion (h).
Saturday, 1 November - Burnley (a).
Tuesday, 4 November - Slavia Prague (a).
Saturday, 8 November - Sunderland (a).
Zobaceirs
0
Our Captaincy is in the SAFE HANDS; Gabriel and Rice Our Midfield is in SAFE HANDS; Eze and Nwaneri so no need to worry. Take your time, heal and Come back stronger 💪💪💪💪
Zobaceirs
0
Quick Recovery Skipper. Good business also by the Arsenal Board to bring in Eberechi Eze, no more disappointments this season. COYG 🤙
Charlesugwu
2
Did you forget Christian Norgard in the midfield? Well, Arsenal is safe
Darey102
1
Quick recovery skipO
Duaaikmsty
3
it time for Eze or namweri to shine
Baydkmortu
0
QR CAPTAIN
resabekpst
3
You can’t predict how many games he will miss. He has to be at 💯 before returning and then he will have to work on his game time, until he is ready for 90min. He will possibly return to the bench, and progress from there. We will find out in due coarse. Good luck skip.!!!