The Arsenal captain was on the plane to Cardiff, in training on Wednesday and in Norway’s 23-man matchday group, just four days after a late kick from Bernardo Silva left him limping out of Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.
Norway’s sports coordinator Brede Hangeland said the scans had come back clean. He told reporters that “there was nothing dramatic in those [X-ray] images” and that “the most important thing is that the guy is feeling better.”
Odegaard went through a light session at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday, having been held out of Tuesday’s work on his left ankle. Norway head coach Ståle Solbakken would not commit either way on whether the midfielder will start against Wales.
“I wish I could say yes, but I can’t. I can’t say no either,” Solbakken said of Odegaard’s availability.
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How the injury happened
Odegaard went down in the closing stages of Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway in the Nations League on Sunday, when Silva kicked out after the ball had gone. He was substituted and left the pitch with a visible limp.
Odegaard himself was more upbeat than the images suggested at the time. Speaking after Sunday’s game, he described the problem as a “bump on my ankle” and told reporters he was “betting it’ll be fine in the next few days.”
What it means for Arteta
Arsenal are back in Premier League action on Saturday 10 October, when Leeds United visit the Emirates with a 12:30pm local time kick-off. Norway face Wales on Thursday and then travel to Portugal for a rematch at Estádio do Dragão on Sunday 4 October, giving Arteta’s medical staff almost a full week with the player before he is needed in red.
Odegaard is central to how Arteta’s side build through midfield, and the manager has had him available only in flashes this season after a run of knocks. He had been pencilled in for the stretch of fixtures that includes a Champions League home tie with Lille on 13 October and a trip to Bayern Munich on 21 October.
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The bigger set-piece on the calendar is Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday 29 November, the first league meeting of the champions and their closest challengers from last season. For now, though, Arsenal’s concern is a simpler one: that the player wearing the armband walks back through London Colney without crutches.
Norway kick off against Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday evening. Whether Odegaard starts, comes off the bench or sits in a tracksuit will tell Arteta more than any medical bulletin issued from north London.
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