The Gunners captain suffered an ankle injury while on international duty with Norway last week during their clash with Austria, and needed crutches to return to London the following day.
Odegaard missed the weekend win over North London rivals Tottenham and the Champions League opener with Atalanta last night, with manager Mikel Arteta admitting that scans had shown "significant" damage to his ankle in a blow. But now it's been revealed that the 26-year-old could miss the remainder of 2024 with the problem.
Odegaard 'Out For 12 Weeks'
Gunners hopeful he can return quicker
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard in action
Writing in an update on his personal X account, insider AFC Amden revealed that he had been told that Odegaard is looking at up to 12 weeks out injured after picking up significant ligament damage in his ankle.
However, he also offered some positivity to the situation with the belief that Arteta and the team will now have to find a new way of playing and winning without their influential talisman as there is no like-for-like replacement in the squad at the Emirates Stadium.
Reports last week suggested that the injury would see him miss a minimum of three to four weeks of action, but it was dependent on whether or not there had been any ligament damage when he turned his ankle. However, the skipper now looks set for a prolonged period on the sidelines.
Martin Odegaard Arsenal Stats (2024/25 Premier League)
Games
3
Goals / assists
0 / 0
Expected assists per 90
0.25
Pass accuracy %
77.4
Minutes played
Spain midfielder Mikel Merino celebrating
While Arsenal are set to be without their star attacking midfielder for a while, they have received some positive news surrounding the fitness of summer signing Mikel Merino according to Sky Sports News.
The Spain international joined the club from Real Sociedad in the summer after a long-running chase, but suffered a major blow in his first training session when he fractured his shoulder following a collision with a teammate and an awkward fall.
The initial belief was that the midfielder could be missing until late-October, however Merino is said to be progressing well and could now return to action in the "next few weeks" in what would be a huge boost to Arteta.
Defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney all remain sidelined however, as the Gunners prepare to take on Premier League champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.
0 Comments