Chris Wheatley reports that though Norway’s team doctor confirmed there’s probably no fracture in Martin Odegaard’s ankle and optimistically suggested a three-week absence, the journalist understands that the midfielder is facing a month out.
Wheatley adds that Arsenal remain hopeful for an earlier return, but that’s the state of play as things stand.
Mikel Arteta was seemingly trying to stay positive about the injury in his pre-Spurs press conference, telling the media that they still need more tests to be sure about anything.
“We need some more tests so let’s see what happens in the next day or so,” Arteta said. “Let’s see what happens, what the extent of the injury is and how quickly we can get him back.
“He’s super positive about everything. We know Martin – he wants to be there every single day but we have to wait and see.
“He’s willing, there’s no question about that. He wants to be present every game and obviously in a big game like this one, but we need to make sure that we know first of all how good he can be or not.
“Players with 48 hours to go are always available, but let’s see what happens.”
Perhaps Arteta was simply trying to hold back some information from the media, to keep Arsenal’s upcoming opponents guessing.
It would obviously be better if the likes of Spurs, Atalanta, and Manchester City don’t know whether or not Odegaard will be available against them this week.
Then there’s the PSG game at the start of next month, where again it would be better to keep the Ligue 1 side uncertain over Arsenal’s lineup.
If Odegaard does miss a month of football, he won’t be back until after the next international break in October, and his first game back would be the trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, October 19th at 17:30 BST.
