Martin Odegaard carried off pitch in tears as Arsenal suffer major injury scare (original) (raw)
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was forced off in the second half of Norway's Nations League match with Austria, with the midfielder appearing to have suffered an ankle injury
Martin Odegaard was helped off the pitch in the second half of Norway's game with Austria
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was helped off the pitch after suffering an apparent ankle injury while playing for Norway.
The Gunners midfielder had started the game against Austria in Ullevaal, but was forced off in the 67th minute. The incident occurred following a challenge from Christoph Baumgartner which saw his foot stick in the turf causing a nasty looking injury.
After receiving immediate attention on the pitch - with his head in his hands - he then needed assistance from two physios to make his way to the touchline. An emotional Odegaard then headed straight down the tunnel for extra treatment with Erling Haaland offering a touch of consolation.
Speaking after the game, Norway boss Stale Solbakken said: “Martin Ødegaard’s injury looked bad in the dressing room as well. Norway doctor Ola Sand also offered an update, suggesting further tests will be carried out in the coming hours.
As quoted by TV2, he said: “He got a small ankle sprain. We will see, maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow."
The injury scare comes at the worst possible time for Arsenal, who are already without Declan Rice for their next Premier League encounter. Rice was controversially sent off during the draw with Brighton last time out, meaning he will be suspended for the North London derby against Tottenham this weekend.
Summer signing Mikel Merino is also unavailable after suffering a freak injury days after his move from Real Sociedad. The Spain international suffered a shoulder injury in his first training session with his new team-mates, with Mikel Arteta confirming he would be out for several weeks.
“Yes, it’s very unfortunate. Yesterday he had a collision and he’s got a shoulder injury and it looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks. First session with us," he explained before the international break.
Odegaard had his head in his hands as he was given treatment on the pitch
“It is [bad luck], he was really excited, we were all really excited, everything was looking very good, he landed on the floor, Gabi went on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably. We have to see [how long he’s out], he was in so much pain, we have to do some more tests on that and then we’ll have more conclusive answers.”
Odegaard was withdrawn from the game with the scores level, with Erling Haaland going on to put Norway in front with just 10 minutes to go. But attention will quickly turn back to his club side and how they will be able to cope without his input from midfield.
If Odegaard is unable to go on Sunday, it will force Arteta into deploying a makeshift midfield, including the likes of Jorginho, Thomas Partey and youngster Ethan Nwaneri.
Martin Odegaard could now miss a pivotal week of fixtures for Arsenal
Riccardo Calafiori was another to suffer an injury during the most recent international break, with the defender sent home from the Italy squad early. Calafiori started Italy's win over France last week, but came off during the second half, Azzurri boss Luciano Spaletti initially allayed fears suggesting he would be available to face Israel on Tuesday, before he was sent back to Arsenal for extra tests.
A potential injury crisis comes ahead of a potentially season-defining week of fixtures for Arteta's side. After the derby with Tottenham, they begin their Champions League campaign at Atalanta, before facing title rivals Manchester City at the Etihad.
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