"They don’t want any reoccurrence of the injury" - Journalist reveals expected return date for Arsenal star Martin Odegaard
Journalist Chirs Wheatley has provided an update on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, revealing when the injured playmaker could return to the pitch. The 25-year-old has been out of contention since September 9, when he sprained his ankle on international duty with Norway.
He has missed seven games for the Gunners, including important matches like their 2-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League. He also missed out on their Premier League clash against Manchester City at the Etihad, where they drew 2-2.
There have been numerous rumors about the extent of his injury and when he could potentially return to the starting lineup for Arsenal. Although reports have claimed that Odegaard could be fit by December, Chris Wheatley has revealed he could be in contention earlier than that. He said on Shots TV (via TBR Football):
“Yeah, with Partey it was just an illness so I’m not expecting that to be too bad. With Odegaard there were some reports on social media that he’d be out much longer than expected, December is what some accounts were suggesting.
“That is not what we are expecting. We’re expecting him to be back in and around November. Some were expecting, including myself, him to be back a bit sooner, but Arsenal are handling this very carefully, they don’t want any reoccurrence of the injury."
Wheatley concluded:
“It looks like Odegaard will be back fairly soon, in the next few weeks. December, as people were saying, is not what is expected."
Martin Odegaard is easily one of Arsenal's most important players. In his absence, they have won three of their last four Premier League games, while beating PSG at the Emirates Stadium on October 1. Despite this, they will be looking for the return of their captain, who had 18 goal contributions in 35 league games last season.
When Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard provided an update on his injury
Before the Gunners faced Southampton in their last Premier League match on October 5 at the Emirates Stadium, Martin Odegaard provided an injury update. He shared details about his recovery in the program notes ahead of the game, which Arsenal won 3-1.
The playmaker said (via Football.London):
“I just wanted to start with the latest on my injury and rehab. In the last week or so I’ve made really good progress. I’m getting better and better by the day and feel it’s going well...
"Hopefully it won’t be much longer... At the moment it’s progressing well and it looks better than we were thinking, but we’ve still got to take every day as it comes."
He will hope he can be available before the November international break, with matches coming in hard and heavy in the first 10 days of November. Arsenal will face Newcastle United (November 2), Inter Milan (November 6), and Chelsea (November 10) all away from home.