The Arsenal captain is facing a number of weeks on the sidelines with the injury he picked up against West Ham on Saturday.
Martin Ødegaard went down after a heavy knee-to-knee collision in Saturday’s win over West Ham United and, despite trying to continue, was forced off after 28 minutes.
Early signs hinted that it might just be patella bruising, but post-match Arteta confirmed that Ødegaard’s knee was in a brace and that the player was “not positive” about how it felt.
“I think he had a clash knee-to-knee and immediately he was uncomfortable,” said Arteta. “I just spoke to him, he’s not positive about it. He’s got a brace on, we’ll have to wait and see from the doctors. But we haven’t been very lucky with that either.”
By Sunday afternoon, Arsenal had confirmed that the 26-year-old had suffered a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury to his left knee. He has been withdrawn from the Norway squad for their upcoming friendlies against Israel and New Zealand and will remain in London for treatment and assessment.
“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,” the club said in a statement.
A timeline for Ødegaard’s recovery will depend on the severity of the injury, which hasn’t been disclosed.
In footballers, a Grade 1 MCL sprain usually requires one to three weeks to heal, while a Grade 2 partial tear can take between three and six weeks.
A Grade 3 full tear, though less common, may need up to three months to recover fully.
Most players with isolated MCL injuries treated without surgery return in about four to five weeks. Arsenal will be hopeful that Ødegaard’s case falls on the milder end of that scale, but a clearer prognosis will only emerge after further scans later this week.
Asked about the midfielder’s continued bad luck with injuries this season, Arteta said: “We haven’t had him since the start of the season for one reason or the other, the shoulder twice and then this injury. So we have to wait and see the extent of that injury.
“We will find solutions but obviously our captain is a player who gives us a completely different dimension with the things that he can do, especially in attack. Let’s wait and hopefully it’s not that bad.”