Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has announced that captain Martin Odegaard is making progress in his recovery from a lengthy injury and could potentially return in time for next week’s crucial match against title rivals Liverpool.
The Norwegian midfielder has been sidelined with an ankle injury sustained while on international duty early last month.
Although Odegaard has not featured for Arsenal since August 31, the team remains unbeaten in the Premier League and is just one point behind leaders Liverpool ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Bournemouth.
Arteta confirmed that Odegaard will not be ready for this weekend’s game but stated that his situation would be reassessed ahead of next week’s fixtures against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and Liverpool.
“I think he’s not going to be fit for this game,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“Next week will be a different story.
He’s in the later stages of rehab, doing a lot of work, but he still needs to clear some markers and be comfortable with the ball.
Next week will be crucial to understand how close he is,” Arteta continued.
In addition to Odegaard’s injury update, Arteta addressed concerns regarding the fitness of Bukayo Saka, who sustained an injury during England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece last week and missed the 3-1 victory over Finland.
“It’s not a serious injury.
He’s evolving really well.
He’s done a few things in the last two days.
He wasn’t fit enough to play in the second game with the national team, but we are hopeful.
We have a training session this afternoon, and he did some bits yesterday, so let’s see if he can make it on time,” Arteta stated.
Arteta also provided an update on forward Kai Havertz, who withdrew from the Germany squad for their matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to a knee issue.
“He had a few issues, and we’ve been dealing with that,” he explained.
“He’s been absolutely brilliant, maintaining good communication with the national team and the manager.
They understood the situation, and we modified everything we could do here. If he trains well today, he has a good chance of being fit and available,” he said.
AFP
