Mikel Arteta hopes Martin Odegaard will be able to make his Arsenal return soon.
The Spaniard was forced to play Manchester City last weekend without the help of his captain after Odegaard injured his ankle while on international duty with Norway.
Suffering suspected ligament damage, the 25-year-old is set for a period on the sidelines.
And while earlier reports prompted fears the midfielder could be out until the end of the year, Arteta has shared a more positive-sounding update.
“Matter of weeks” until Martin Odegaard return, says Mikel Arteta
Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s EFL Cup Third Round home tie against League One side Bolton, the Gunners boss revealed he believes his captain will be back in “a matter of weeks”.
“I think it will be a matter of weeks, but how long exactly I cannot tell,” he said, as quoted by News Chain Online.
“We might get a surprise but I think it’s unlikely he’ll be back before the international break.”
Should Odegaard return ahead of November’s fixtures, he will come back to a tough run of games including two Champions League matchups against Inter Milan (6 Nov) and Sporting Lisbon (26 Nov).