Arsenal have been without Martin Odegaard since he was injured on international duty in September but the Norway captain has issued a fresh update on his recovery
Martin Odegaard insists he is “getting better and better by the day” as he works his way back to fitness.
The Arsenal captain has been out of action since picking up an injury on international duty for Norway in September. He is not part of Stale Solbakken’s squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League game, with the Norweigan boss suggesting his star man is “a long way” from being available.
The response from the midfielder’s club boss was the same. Mikel Arteta said it was “difficult to give a timeline” while confirming the former Real Madrid star was working hard to get back to full fitness.
Arsenal aren’t back in action until October 19, when they travel to Bournemouth for a Premier League match. However, despite uncertainty over when he might return, Odegaard himself appears optimistic.
“In the last week or so I’ve made really good progress,’ Odegaard wrote in his programme notes for Arsenal’s Premier League match against Southampton. “I’m getting better and better by the day and feel it’s going well.
“When you feel like things are moving forward, it gives you motivation to do more and more and work harder. Today is our last game before another international break, so that gives me some more time to work on the rehab, too.
“Hopefully it won’t be much longer — I think we will know more as soon as I get out on the training pitches and we see how my ankle responds to that. “t the moment it’s progressing well and it looks better than we were thinking, but we’ve still got to take every day as it comes.”
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Arsenal have dealt well with Odegaard’s absence so far. They remain unbeaten in all competitions after 10 matches, with Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Southampton making it 17 points from a possible 21 in the league.
Cameron Archer threatened to stun the Emirates Stadium when he put Russell Martin’s side ahead, only for Kai Havertz – playing deeper to make up for Odegaard’s absence – scoring a quickfire equaliser. Gabriel Martinelli put the Gunners in front, but it wasn’t until the 88th minute that the points were made safe as Bukayo Saka added a third.
While Odegaard’s return date remains uncertain, Arteta confirmed before the victory that team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko was closer to a comeback. The Ukrainian hasn’t featured since the end of August, when he played the final 10 minutes of Arsenal’s draw with Brighton.
“Alex [Zinchenko] probably after the international break if everything goes well. He’s progressing really well,” Arteta said. “Martin is very difficult, I expected still with the boot and a lot of things and he’s working so hard and is feeling good and is pushing it so it’s difficult to give a timeline.”
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