Martin Odegaard has been included in Norway’s squad for their upcoming fixture against Wales, amid suggestions his ankle issue is improving and not too serious.
There was some concern around Martin Odegaard’s fitness after he was unable to play a full role in training with Norway on Tuesday, despite being pictured out on the grass.
The Arsenal captain had been on the end of a bad challenge from ex-Manchester City player Bernardo Silva on Sunday, and there were obviously fears about his continued involvement in the rest of the September-October international break.
But there was good news on that front on Thursday morning, with UEFA confirming that Odegaard has been included in Norway’s 23-man squad for tonight’s Nations League game against Wales.
There had been some other positive signs prior to the UEFA squad confirmation.
For a start, Odegaard did have a light training session with his teammates on Wednesday. Then Norway assistant Brede Hangeland had provided an encouraging update on the injury scans.
“As far as I understood, there was nothing dramatic in those [X-ray] images,” Hangeland said. “The most important thing is that the guy is feeling better. The images show a snapshot, while he’s still recovering. And the progress is positive.”
As mentioned, Odegaard suffered the injury as a direct result of a foul by Bernardo Silva, who kicked out at the Arsenal captain when the ball was long gone.
Odegaard was incensed by the kick, with the TV cameras appearing to pick up the player shouting “f**k you, f**k you” at Silva before squaring up to him. Silva didn’t apologise at the time, nor after the game.
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