Martin Odegaard appears set for a November return from injury, following an update from Mikel Arteta on his ankle ligament problem.
Mikel Arteta gave a disappointing update on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard in his pre-Atalanta press conference on Wednesday, revealing that the midfielder has suffered ankle ligament damage.
Arteta suggested the problem is relatively significant, though he wouldn’t put a timeframe on the player’s return.
“After everything was scanned, they showed there was some damage, especially in one of the ligaments in the ankle so we’re going to miss him,” Arteta said.
“I don’t want to [put a timeframe on it] because I am not a doctor but it is something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while – hopefully not months but let’s see.
“He’s our captain – he’s one of our biggest players. He’s been one of the most consistent players in the last two or three seasons.”
Football insider Team News and Ticks reveals on Patreon that “it’s looking like a November return” for Odegaard at the moment.
That would mean that as well as the upcoming September games, Odegaard would also miss the October home matches against PSG, Southampton, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Liverpool, and the away game against Bournemouth.
Unless Odegaard is back right at the start of November, he’d also be at risk of missing away trips to Newcastle United (November 2nd), Inter Milan (November 6th), and Chelsea (November 10th).
Physio Scout writes on Twitter that whilst we don’t have the details, the most commonly injured ankle ligament is the ATFL (Anterior Talofibular Ligament), which would mean an absence of around a month.
That timeframe would get Odegaard back playing in time for those November away fixtures, so we can only cross our fingers that it’s correct.
Either way, it looks like Odegaard will miss the October international break, so Norway will also suffer for the injury he picked up with them.
