Norway manager Stale Solbakken has admitted he thought the injury to Arsenal star Martin Odegaard “looked bad” in the dressing room after the game.
The Gunners captain went off with an ankle problem in Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria yesterday, and Mikel Arteta may now face the daunting prospect of going into this weekend’s North London Derby against Tottenham without his captain and main playmaker.
Odegaard has been a hugely important player for Arsenal in recent years, and his injury news comes not long after it was also confirmed that another crucial player, midfielder Declan Rice, would also miss the Spurs game due to being suspended after his bizarre red card in the recent 1-1 draw with Brighton.
If Odegaard can’t make it back for this weekend, Arteta is going to have to majorly revamp his midfield for the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and for now it certainly doesn’t sound promising from what Norway’s staff are saying…
??? Norway coach Solbakken: “Martin Ødegaard’s injury looked bad in the dressing room as well”.
Norway doctor Ola Sand: “He got a small ankle sprain. We will see, maybe we use ultrasound to look at it”.
“If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow”, Sand told TV2. pic.twitter.com/tRsE7nvqda
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 9, 2024
Solbakken felt the Odegaard injury didn’t look good, while their doctor Ola Sand said they could take a look at the player’s ankle with an ultrasound scan.
This hopefully means Arsenal and their fans will soon know one way or another if the 25-year-old will be fit enough to make it back for the Tottenham game on Sunday.
Odegaard injury: What are Arsenal’s options if he doesn’t make it for Spurs?
Arsenal will have a few things they can do if they have to totally change the way their midfield is set up for the trip to Spurs, but none of them are ideal of course.
One obvious solution is to move Kai Havertz back into midfield, most likely alongside Thomas Partey and Jorginho, though another option could also be to bring in youngster Ethan Nwaneri.
One imagines Arteta won’t risk Nwaneri for such a big game, but the young midfielder has long been highly regarded inside the Emirates Stadium and is expected to have more of a first-team role this season after featuring a lot in pre-season.