Arsenal: Norway boss Stale Solbakken reveals plans to call up Martin Odegaard next month

In partnership with

Evening Standard

·24 October 2024

Arsenal: Norway boss Stale Solbakken reveals plans to call up Martin Odegaard next month

Odegaard remains out with an ankle injury but Norway are hoping to select him for November fixtures

Norway boss Stale Solbakken has revealed he plans to have Martin Odegaard available for next month’s international fixtures.

OneFootball Videos

The Arsenal captain has now been out for more than six weeks with an ankle injury picked up while playing for Norway in September.

Odegaard has stepped up his recovery recently, training individually and running on an anti-gravity treadmill, and has confirmed he is “getting closer” to being available.

Mikel Arteta has suggested Odegaard will return before the November international break, which has left Solbakken hopeful of being able to call up the 25-year-old for Norway’s fixtures against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.

“Everything indicates that things are going according to plan,” the Norway manager told VG when asked if Odegaard would be ready to play for his country next month.

“So it's about the last steps when you have to train with opponents and in team training. It depends on how he responds to that, but we have a legitimate hope that he is ready.”

While Odegaard is making progress in his recovery, Arteta has confirmed that the midfielder is not expected to be available to face Liverpool this weekend.

However, the Gunners will be desperate to have him back for a crucial week before the international break, when they travel to face Newcastle, Inter Milan and Chelsea in the space of eight days.