Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed that the Gunners would be without captain Martin Ødegaard for “a few weeks” during an injury update which was otherwise largely positive.
The Norway international spent the opening weeks never far from pain at various points across his body. A recurring shoulder injury forced Ødegaard to be subbed off in the first half of consecutive home matches before completing an unwanted hat-trick after clashing knees against West Ham United a fortnight ago.
It was confirmed by the club that Ødegaard had damaged the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee. Depending on the severity of this injury, players can be forced into raft of wildly contrasting recovery timelines. Reports during the international break suggested that Ødegaard would be not appear again for Arsenal until at least the second half of November.
In typically cagey fashion, Arteta refused to definitively confirm those claims, but did concede that the club captain would be unavailable in the short term. “He will be weeks, no definite date for his return, but he’s evolving well,” the Spanish boss told assembled media on Friday.
“It’s very unlucky what’s happening with him and his injuries this season, but I think he will be back in a few weeks.”
When pushed on whether Ødegaard’s absence would extend to November’s international break, Arteta admitted: “It could be,” before adding, “we will have to see how he is progressing, how his knee is feeling, how he manages the next steps in his rehab, it’s too early to get an answer.”
Arteta’s Encouraging Updates on the Rest of Arsenal’s Absentees
Martín Zubimendi
There was a scare for Arsenal fans when Martín Zubimendi sat out Arsenal’s training session on Thursday. After getting a clout on the chin a matter of seconds into an unconvincing Premier League debut against Manchester United, the summer recruit has grown into his role at the base of midfield and his absence would be a major concern.
However, Arteta was quick to quash those fears. “All the players come from different countries, different amount of games and minutes played,” he explained. “We believe it was the right thing to do. His [Zubimendi’s] load has been really high, but he will be available.”
Ben White
White was also a surprise absentee from Thursday’s session. The notable England abstainer did not have any international travel as an excuse yet Arteta appeared to be similarly unconcerned. “We are monitoring all the players, we give a specific menu to each of them,” he shrugged.
Noni Madueke
Arguably Arsenal’s brightest spark of the season was extinguished just as he was shining brightest. The refreshingly direct winger is yet to appear since damaging his knee in the first half of a 1–1 draw with Manchester City in mid-September.
Arteta revealed that Noni Madueke is “getting closer” although cooled any growing expectations of an imminent return by adding: “He’s going to start very soon to do some running.” The England star is not expected back until the other side of November’s international break.
Piero Hincapié
The late summer addition has made a grand total of one fleeting cameo for Arsenal since jumping off the sinking ship of a gutted Bayer Leverkusen. A groin injury has been behind this limited involvement but Arteta revealed that Piero Hincapié could soon add to his minimal stack of minutes.
“He is training again with us,” the manager confirmed. “If everything is right, he will be available as well. We really want that, he is going to bring something different to the team, we need to get him going, get him up to speed to get him up to the level.”
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz was the first casualty in what has proven to be an injury-riddled campaign for the Gunners, going down with a knee problem after the Premier League opener.
Arteta has previously been optimistic about Havertz’s ability to recover ahead of schedule—late November is when many expect the German back—but struck a less enthusiastic tone on Friday.
“Very difficult, there is a lot to do in his rehab. He’s really pushing, that’s why we love Kai. We are doing very good work with him. He wants to break every timeline, I’m sure. But we have to protect him and make sure when he comes back, he’s back for the long-term.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Concerning Martin Odegaard Recovery Schedule Sours Positive Arsenal Injury Updates.
