Martin Odegaard could find himself in a club versus country row upon his return to full fitness.
The Arsenal skipper has been sidelined with an ankle injury since mid-September, missing his side’s last nine matches and leaving Mikel Arteta with a team selection headache. The midfielder is on the road to recovery, though a return is not anticipated this weekend against Liverpool nor for the Gunners’ Carabao Cup clash with Preston North End.
Arsenal then face Newcastle, Inter Milan and Chelsea before the November international break, and it is unclear whether he will be available for any of those tough fixtures.
Arteta has resisted putting a time frame on the absence of Odegaard recently, though Norway boss Stale Solbakken has not hidden his optimism about having the midfielder as part of his squad for Nations League matches against Slovenia and Kazakhstan next month.
He told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang: “Everything indicates that (Odegaard’s injury) is going according to plan, then it is about the last steps when you are going to train with opponents and at team training.
“It depends on how he responds to it, but we have a justified hope that he is ready. I’ve spoken to him quite regularly. Now that it’s starting to progress, it’s easier, but it’s not fun to be injured. At the same time, he has been very little injured, so it is probably a training matter for him.”
The comments are likely to be a cause for concern for Arteta though given that Solbakken appears to be banking on Odegaard featuring during that international break. The Gunners boss is already battling with an ever-growing list of absentees, and he is unlikely to want his captain to compete for Norway if he is not completely fit.
After an extended period on the sidelines, Arsenal will not want to take any risks with Odegaard to ensure that he does not suffer any potential setbacks and may talk with the ex-Real Madrid star about skipping the two fixtures.
The Gunners have struggled to replace the creativity of their No. 19 over the past few weeks and if the playmaker reaggravates the ankle injury then Arteta’s title hopes could ultimately go up in smoke.
Ultimately, the responsibility will lie with Odegaard to rule whether he is fit enough to compete for Norway in November or whether he would benefit from not rushing back to the pitch at a key stage in his recovery.
