Martin Odegaard has confirmed the nature of his injury and is hopeful that he won’t be sidelined for too long.
Martin Odegaard was missing from Arsenal’s squad for the Premier League game against Bournemouth at the weekend after going off after 69 minutes against Sporting in the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League quarter final last week.
There have been few updates about him until this point, with the Norway manager Stale Solbakken confirming he had a problem but that it didn’t seem like it would keep him out of action too long.
At his press conference ahead of the second leg against Sporting on Wednesday night, Mikel Arteta was vague, leaving supporters wondering what is going on.
Now, Odegaard himself has clarified the problem, writing in his programme notes, “I had to go off during the second half of that game in Portugal last week, feeling my knee, which is why I missed the game at the weekend.
“I caught it a little bit against Sporting, but hopefully it shouldn’t be too bad. I’m desperate to get back as soon as possible because this is the crucial period of the season, in the Premier League and Champions League.”
That would certainly seem to indicate he will not be involved in any fashion against Sporting.
This is Odegaard’s third knee problem of the season, all of them stemming from contact injuries.
He has also spent time on the sidelines, twice, with shoulder problems, as his injury-plagued campaign continues.
In total, Odegaard has missed 24 matches this season through injury, starting just three in the Champions League, 13 in the Premier League, once in the FA Cup and once in the EFL Cup. That’s a total of 18 starts in all competitions for the club’s captain and most influential midfielder at helping Arsenal both orchestrate their press, and escape the opposition’s.
Odegaard missed just four games due to injury in the 20/21 season thanks to an ankle problem, none in 21/22, five for club and country in 23/24 through a hip injury, and 15 in 24/25 due to another ankle problem and a bout of illness.