Arsenal look set to be without club captain Martin Odegaard for the foreseeable future through injury.
Odegaard suffered an ankle injury during the international break while on duty with Norway and underwent further assessment upon his return to the Gunners.
The midfielder missed the North London Derby win over Tottenham Hotspur with the injury. Mikel Arteta confirmed in the pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Atalanta in the Champions League that it’s a “significant” injury for Odegaard.
“After recent scans the scans showed that he’s got some damage, especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle,” Arteta told reporters on Wednesday.
“It’s something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while.”
Arteta would not give a timeframe for when he expects Odegaard to return. Arsenal have six more fixtures until the October international break, and it remains to be seen if the 25-year-old will make recover from the injury in time to feature in any of those games.
After facing Atalanta in the Champions League, Arsenal return to Premier League action at the weekend to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. That will be followed by a Carabao Cup third-round tie at home to Bolton Wanderers.
Arsenal will then have games against Leicester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Southampton before the international break. Further updates are likely to be provided during that time on Odegaard’s fitness, but there is expected to be a nervous wait as the Gunners hope to see the club captain return from injury as soon as possible.
Below is a list of Arsenal fixtures Martin Odegaard could miss depending on how long he is sidelined through injury
Atalanta (A) – September 19 – Champions League
Manchester City (A) – September 22 – Premier League
Bolton Wanderers (H) – September 25 – Carabao Cup
Two weeks – Leicester City (H) – September 28
Paris Saint-Germain (H) – October 1 – Champions League
Southampton (H) – October 5 – Premier League
Five weeks – Bournemouth (A) – October 19 – Premier League
Shakhtar Donetsk (H) – October 22 – Champions League
Liverpool (H) – October 27 – Premier League
Newcastle (A) – November 2 – Premier League
Inter Milan (A) – November 6 – Champions League
Eight weeks – Chelsea (A) – November 10 – Premier League
