Martin Odegaard sustains brutal ankle injury ahead of tough Arsenal schedule

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard could be sidelined for a number of weeks after sustaining a nasty-looking ankle injury on international duty.

The 25-year-old was hauled off in the second half of Norway's 2-1 win at home to Austria in the Nations League on Monday night, having twisted his ankle at an alarming angle when competing with Christoph Baumgartner for a loose ball.

Odegaard was substituted after receiving treatment for several minutes, and Norway manager Stale Solbakken admitted the injury didn't look good after the game: "It looked bad in the dressing room as well.

"I saw he was sitting with the physiotherapists around him but he had no chance to continue and we know it was an ankle sprain.

"Yes, it's a sprain, and as those of us who had played football know, with luck it can turn out OK if the ligaments aren’t torn.

"I'm not really sure that [Mikel] Arteta will call me tonight to praise me."

Norway team doctor Ola Sand added: "He got a small ankle sprain. We will see throughout the evening and tomorrow what happens next and what we will do about it.

"Ankle sprains are difficult to deal with straight away, so we almost have to see how things go forward.

"We will examine him when we are back at the hotel. Maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow."

News of Odegaard's injury comes as a huge blow to Arsenal, who have a tricky run of fixtures on the horizon.

They return to Premier League action on Sunday away at north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Mikel Arteta's side then travel to Atalanta in the Champions League and then finish a tough three-game away stretch with a trip to title rivals Manchester City.

The Gunners are already without key midfielder Declan Rice for the journey to Spurs due to suspension, while summer signing Mikel Merino is out with a shoulder problem.

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