An emotional Norway captain Martin Odegaard limped off the pitch with an ankle injury ahead of Arsenal’s upcoming North London derby versus Tottenham on Sunday.
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Odegaard’s injury comes both on his heel and the heels of the injury suffered by defender Riccardo Calafiori on Italy duty. Mikel Merino and Gabriel Jesus are also suffering from injuries.
Photos from Norwegian outlet VG show Odegaard on crutches without a shoe on his left foot as he boarded a plane to head back to London.
Definitely out of the derby? Mikel Arteta is singing a slightly different tune.
🛩️🇳🇴 Ødegaard, on crutches returning to England to be assessed by Arsenal staff.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 10, 2024
Pic via @vgsporten 📸 pic.twitter.com/EAlbq2pRRg
Odegaard injury news - What is the latest?
A sloppy challenge from Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner caught Odegaard on the back of his left ankle and the Gunners man hopped up, grabbed the back of that foot, and hit the deck.
Odegaard, 25, left the game in the 67th minute for Kristian Thorstvedt and Norwegian boss Stale Solbakken issued an update after the game as Arsenal fans wait with baited breath for positive news that is yet to arrive in north London.
The Gunners, after all, go to Spurs on Sunday for a derby against their heated rivals, then head to Atalanta and Manchester City for huge games in their respective Champions League and Premier League title fights.
Norway doctor Ola Sand expounded upon the injury a day after the match versus Austria.
The video of the incident showed a clearly distressed Odegaard and led to big fears.
The Gunners remain relatively thin at his position, but went 2W-1L during his only Premier League absence last season. Emile Smith Rowe started one of those games in a midfield with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, while Jorginho drew the other two starts with Rice and Havertz.
Mikel Arteta hasn’t ruled Odegaard out of North London derby
Sunday’s coming up soon, but Mikel Arteta’s hope tank isn’t empty when it comes to Odegaard’s availability for the short trip to Spurs.
“We need some more tests. Let’s see what happens in the next day or so. This afternoon probably. Let’s see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back. Martin wants to be here every day but we have to wait and see.
“I leave that to the doctor. He’s willing and he wants to be present in every game. We need to make sure we know first how good he is or not. Players with 48 hours are always available. Let’s see what happens.”
This still seems so unlikely, but elite athletes’ bodies sometimes have elite healing capabilities. Odegaard played 36 of 38 Premier League games in his first full season with the Gunners, then improved that to 37 of 38 last season. If he can go, he’ll go.