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Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, required assistance leaving the pitch after appearing to have injured his ankle while representing Norway. The midfielder for the Gunners was substituted off in the 67th minute of their match against Austria in Ullevaal. After Christoph Baumgartner challenged someone, his foot stuck in the turf, resulting in an ugly-looking injury.
Odegaard needed help from two physiotherapists to get to the touchline after receiving emergency care on the pitch, and he was visibly upset as he made his way down to the tunnel for more care. With the scores tied, Odegaard was replaced, and with ten minutes remaining, Erling Haaland gave Norway the lead. However, focus will soon return to his club team and their ability to function without his midfield contribution.
🚨🚨| It looks like Ødegaard twisted his ankle and had to come off the field. 🤕🇳🇴
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) September 9, 2024
[@JanAageFjortoft]
pic.twitter.com/uFElhe3Usa
Odegaard in tears… the injury looks serious 😞pic.twitter.com/Z9V3sm5OFi
— Ø (@OdeMagical) September 9, 2024
Given that Declan Rice is already out of the lineup for Arsenal's upcoming Premier League match, the injury concern arrives at the most disastrous possible time. Rice's controversial dismissal during the draw against Brighton the previous game means he will be missing this weekend's North London derby versus Tottenham Hotspur due to suspension.
"Looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks" : Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Additionally missing is summer signing Mikel Merino, who suffered an odd injury a few days after joining from Real Socidead. In his first training session with his new teammates, the Spain international hurt his shoulder and Mikel Arteta confirmed he was going to be unavailable for several weeks.
Mikel Arteta said, “Yes, it’s very unfortunate. Yesterday he had a collision and he’s got a shoulder injury and it looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks. First session with us," he explained before the international break.
The former Everton midfielder added, “It is [bad luck], he was really excited, we were all really excited, everything was looking very good, he landed on the floor, Gabi went on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably. We have to see [how long he’s out], he was in so much pain, we have to do some more tests on that and then we’ll have more conclusive answers."