Martin Odegaard limped off with an apparent ankle injury in Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria on Monday night in what could be a major blow to Arsenal ahead of the north London derby.
The following morning, Norwegian media reported he boarded a private plane at Oslo Airport, but was in crutches and only wearing one shoe in an apparent effort to avoid putting weight on his left foot.
Odegaard is set for a scan on the injury upon his return to London, PA media reports.
The Gunners visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday to face their fierce rivals as they look to get their title bid back on track, following a surprise draw with Brighton at the Emirates ahead of the international break, when Declan Rice was controversially sent off.
Rice will be suspended for the Premier League showdown and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could now be without his captain too. Odegaard was treated on the field by physios before being helped from the field, looking in some distress.
He was consoled by teammate Erling Haaland, who scored the game’s winning goal, though Haaland’s Manchester City could be the beneficiaries of any injury crisis at the Emirates Stadium as they chase an unprecedented fifth straight title.
“Martin is doing quite well now,” Norway team doctor Ola Sand said. “He got a small ankle sprain. We will see throughout the evening and tomorrow what happens next and what we will do about it.
“Ankle sprains are difficult to deal with straight away, so we almost have to see how things go forward. We will examine him when we are back at the hotel. Maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI.”
Arsenal’s problems are compounded by an injury to new signing Mikel Merino, who joined from Real Sociedad at the end of the transfer window for an initial £28.4m with a further £4.2m in add-ons. Merino, Odegaard and Rice were meant to form a new title-winning triumvirate in the centre of the pitch, Merino suffered a fractured shoulder after teammate Gabriel Magalhaes fell on him in his first training session.
Odegaard’s injury did not prevent Norway from winning the game. Haaland had to wait and wait, after a two-minute video review check, for his 32nd career goal for Norway in just his 35th international as he sealed victory.
At 1-1 in the 80th minute, the ball rebounded to Haaland near the penalty spot and the striker held off two defenders before poking in a low shot. The VAR check for a possible offside went on and on before the goal was confirmed.
Norway and Slovenia each have four points at the top of their second-tier group ahead of meeting in Oslo on 10 October, after Slovenia beat Kazakhstan 3-0 thanks to a Benjamin Sesko hat-trick.
