Norway boss delivers Odegaard injury update after Arsenal captain’s knee setback

Martin Odegaard initially suffered a minor knee injury during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Brentford last month and he has missed the club’s past two matches despite recently returning to action against Tottenham

Norway boss Stale Solbakken insists Martin Odegaard’s injury is “nothing serious” – even though the Arsenal captain has missed the past two matches with a recurring knee issue.

The Gunners playmaker initially picked up the problem when attempting to keep out Keane Lewis-Potter’s equaliser in last month’s pulsating 1-1 draw against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

After hobbling through the mixed zone post-match, Odegaard then missed the FA Cup fourth-round rout over Wigan Athletic and also sat out of the 2-2 draw at Wolves before coming off the bench in the one-sided North London Derby demolition of Tottenham.

But since then, the Norway international has been forced to miss crucial Premier League victories over Chelsea and Brighton, respectively.

Solbakken is not concerned, however, telling Scandinavian broadcaster Viaplay: “There is nothing serious about Martin. The most important thing is that he recovers completely and is good for us in the summer.

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“For those of us who care about the World Cup, it’s not a disaster that he’s getting some breaks now. He’s going to rebuild and be crucial for Arsenal in April-May and maybe late March.”

Norway play international friendlies against the Netherlands and Switzerland later this month and it remains to be seen whether Odegaard is included in their squad for those matches.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s gritty win at the Amex, Arteta issued a coy update on his skipper during his pre-match press conference and remarked “we’ll see” when quizzed on the potential return of his attacking midfielder.

It’s been an injury-hit campaign for Odegaard to date, even though he has still mustered 20 top-flight appearances for the Premier League leaders.

He sustained shoulder issues which forced him off in the first half of wins over Leeds United and Nottingham Forest at the Emirates in August and September respectively and then suffered an MCL knee injury against West Ham on October 4.

The problem kept him sidelined until late November when he made his return from the bench in the 3-1 Champions League triumph over German giants Bayern Munich.

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Arsenal are optimistic that Odegaard is primed to play an integral role in their four-pronged pursuit of silverware, while Norway are counting on their leader for this summer’s World Cup finals.

The 27-year-old missed his nation’s final three World Cup qualifiers but he still travelled to Milan to support his compatriots as they booked their place at the tournament by dismantling Italy 4-1 at San Siro.

Norway will go head-to-head with France and Senegal in North America and will learn their final Group I opponents later this month following the conclusion of the play-offs.

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