Arsenal fear Martin Odegaard will miss eight weeks of action after his ‘significant’ ankle ligament injury.
Mikel Arteta confirmed the severity of the injury on Wednesday night after the Gunners captain was forced off while playing for Norway during September’s international break.
The Arsenal boss refused to put a precise timeline on the midfielder’s recovery but The Mirror report he could return at home against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal’s first game back after the November international break.
It serves as a major blow for the north London side as they look to keep early pace with Manchester City in the Premier League and make their mark in the Champions League with their campaign getting underway against Atalanta tonight.
Odegaard will miss 10 games in that period – 11 should Arsenal reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup by beating Bolton next week.
There are some colossal games for Arsenal in that run. Odegaard will sit out of the visit of Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and the trip to Inter Milan in early November.
On that current return timeline, he will miss seven Premier League games, starting with the visit to Manchester City on Sunday.
Arsenal also host Liverpool in that period before back-to-back away games against Newcastle United and Chelsea either side of their trip to San Siro.
Arteta was forced to name a makeshift midfield against Tottenham last Sunday with Declan Rice missing out through suspension and Mikel Merino also among the injured contingent.
The games Martin Odegaard is expected to miss for Arsenal
Man City (A) – 22 September
Bolton (H) – 25 September
Leicester City (H) – 28 September
Paris Saint-Germain (H) – 1 October
Southampton (H) – 5 October
Bournemouth (A) – 19 October
Shakhtar Donetsk (H) – 22 October
Liverpool (H) – 27 October
Newcastle United (A) – 2 November
Inter Milan (A) – 6 November
Chelsea (A) – 10 November
While Rice is available again, Odegaard’s absence leaves a gaping hole in midfield.
‘It’s something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while,’ Arteta said of Odegaard’s injury.
‘He’s our captain. He’s been one of the biggest and best players in our team.
‘Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It’s a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face.’
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