Arsenal star Martin Odegaard spotted on crutches, making his way back to London for further tests on his ankle injury
|Arsenal midfielder and captain Martin Odegaard is on his way to London and will have an MRI later today after the ankle injury he sustained while on international duty for Norway against Austria last night, according to VG.
The Arsenal star twisted his ankle following a tackle in the second-half and had to be helped off the pitch. Odegaard will all but miss the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in what would be a huge blow for the Gunners.
VG uploaded pictures of the Arsenal ace boarding a private jet today, and further tests will be carried out at the training ground to determine the extent of the injury.
The North Londoners are already without the suspended Declan Rice for the Spurs game, while summer arrival Mikel Merino is currently out injured.
Odegaard was taken off in the 74th minute against Brighton & Hove Albion as he was unable to shake off a blow to his ankle in the first-half, and Norway manager Stale Solbakken offered a worrying update on the injury status of the Arsenal star, claiming he was also suffering another injury ahead of the game against Kazakhstan in the UEFA Nations League last Friday.
While the 25-year-old played all 90 minutes and emerged unscathed after the game, he was unlucky against Austria and could now spend some months out of action.
Manager Mikel Arteta will be forced to make changes to his midfield ahead of the trip to Tottenham and going forward, and Kai Havertz could be deployed in the number 10 role, while Raheem Sterling can also feature there.
Ethan Nwaneri is also an option, but whether Arsenal are willing to trust the 17-year-old against the Premier League big boys remains to be seen.