Arsenal have confirmed captain Martin Odegaard faces a spell on the sidelines after limping off with an injury against West Ham.
Odegaard was forced off in the 30th minute of Arsenal’s 2-0 win over West Ham at the Emirates on Saturday.
The Norwegian sustained the injury in what manager Mikel Arteta described as a ‘knee on knee’ collision with Crysencio Summerville.
Arsenal have confirmed the 26-year-old has been forced to withdraw from international duty with Norway.
The Premier League leaders confirmed Odegaard sustained a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee.
Arsenal did not disclose the expected timeframe for Odegaard’s recovery.
Arsenal have confirmed Martin Odegaard has sustained a medial collateral ligament injury
‘Martin Odegaard has been withdrawn from the Norway national team for their upcoming matches against Israel and New Zealand after sustaining a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee during the first half in Saturday’s win over West Ham United,’ an Arsenal statement read.
‘Martin will continue to be assessed and treated by our medical team at Sobha Realty Training Centre during the international window, with the aim of a return to action as soon as possible.’
Physio Scout, a football injury analysis account on X, estimated Odegaard’s injury could range from between a couple of weeks to several months depending on the grade.
The account suggested a grade one medial collateral knee ligament injury could take between one to three weeks to recover, while grade two would be between three to six weeks.
A grade three injury could reportedly range from six weeks out to over 10, however the account suggested grades one or two appeared more plausible in Odegaard’s case.
Arteta had revealed Odegaard had his knee in a brace following the injury on Saturday afternoon, as the Arsenal boss expressed concerns about his captain’s possible absence.
‘I just spoke to him, he’s not positive about it, he’s got a brace on,’ Arteta said post-match.
‘We’ll have to wait and see from the doctors, but we haven’t been very lucky with that either.
Odegaard has been forced to withdraw from international duty with Norway due to the injury
‘We haven’t had him since the start of the season for one reason or the other. The shoulder twice and then this injury.
‘We’ll have to wait and see the extent of that injury, and we’ll find solutions, but obviously he’s our captain and is a player that gives us a completely different dimension with the things that he can do, especially in attacking.’
Odegaard had set an unwanted Premier League record by becoming the first player to be substituted before half-time in three consecutive matches.
The Arsenal captain had previously been taken off in wins over Leeds and Nottingham Forest due to an ongoing shoulder problem.
Despite Odegaard’s injury, Arsenal earned a 2-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka on target.
The result proved enough for Arsenal to head into the international break top of the table, after reigning champions Liverpool suffered a late 2-1 defeat at Chelsea.
