Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was injured before the international break but provided an update on his recovery as the Gunners face Atletico Madrid
Arsenal star Martin Odegaard has revealed that his return could be “quick” if his rehabilitation continues “really well”. However, the Gunners captain refused to set a timetable for his return due to uncertainty over how things would turn out.
Odegaard brought up the issue against West Ham United, forcing him to miss international duty with Norway. The 26-year-old has damaged the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, with manager Mikel Arteta previously saying he would be out for a number of weeks.
The former Real Madrid ace is expected to be sidelined until the end of the November international break. That could allow him to return in time for the North London derby on November 23rd.
And now Odegaard has spoken out about his injury. The midfielder seems confident in his work so far, but is cautious about his progress.
The playmaker hopes he can provide a clearer picture once he returns to the pitch. In part, that’s due to the location of his injury.
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“It’s difficult to set a return date with this type of injury, especially with the left leg, because it really depends on the situation when you start returning to the pitch,” Odegaard said in the program notes.
“It’s really hard to put a date on it because sometimes when I start passing the ball, shooting and doing things with that foot, it hurts quite a bit.
“All I can say is that things are going very well at the moment. I think we’ll know more once we start getting back on the training pitch and we’ll see how it goes. If it goes really well, it could be sooner.”
Odegaard believes he was unlucky to have suffered so many setbacks this season. The captain has already missed the match due to a shoulder injury.
“It’s hard work and the recovery will take a long time, but that’s what you want and I feel like things are going well so far,” Odegaard explained. “I feel like I’ve had some really bad luck this season.
“It was a knee-to-knee contact against West Ham. I didn’t know if it was bad at the time, because it can be quite painful, but normally you can get away with it. So I tried to keep going to see if it got better.”
“I was hoping it was just a bruise and would get better within a few minutes. But my symptoms didn’t improve and I felt like something was wrong, so in the end it was better to leave.”
“As soon as I got in, the medical team looked at me properly. By the time the adrenaline stopped flowing and I calmed down a bit, I was in a lot of pain.”
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