Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard injury update as private jet cancelled over knee issue

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has stayed in London to undergo further assessment on the knee injury he sustained against West Ham. The Gunners playmaker had been due to fly to Norway on Saturday evening after the Premier League match ahead of joining up with the national team.

However, it's understood the journey was postponed as Odegaard's knee is currently in a brace and there are fears he may potentially have suffered damage.

The incident happened in the first half of the 2-0 win over the Irons when Odegaard attempted to tackle Crysencio Summerville, instead clashing knees.

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Initially, he tried to play on before kicking the ball off the field so he could undergo further treatment. After attempted to soldier on a second time, Odegaard then accepted defeat much to the dismay of Mikel Arteta.

The Spaniard said of Odegaard during his post-match press conference: I think he had a clash knee-to-knee and immediately he was uncomfortable. I just spoke to him, he's not positive about it. He's got a brace on, we'll have to wait and see from the doctors. But we haven't been very lucky with that either."

The 26-year-old has not long returned from a shoulder issue and has now been forced off in three consecutive Premier League home matches that he's started.

Furthermore, Norway also face a crunch World Cup qualification match against Israel in Oslo next Saturday as they look to pull clear of Italy at the summit of Group I.

The Norwegian national team is now waiting to hear back from Arsenal's medical staff before they make a decision on Odegaard's potential involvement this camp. They also host New Zealand in a friendly on October 14.

Speaking after Arsenal's win on Saturday, Arteta revealed Odegaard is “not positive” about his latest injury problem. “I think he had a clash, knee-to-knee and immediately he was uncomfortable. I just spoke to him and he is not positive about it,” Arteta revealed.

“He has got a brace on. We will have to wait from the doctors but we have been very unlucky with that. Yeah we haven’t had him since the start for one reason or another. The shoulder twice and then this injury.

“We have to wait and see the extent of the injury. We will have to find solutions but obviously is our captain and is a player that gives us a completely different dimension with things that he can do, especially in the attack. Let’s wait and hopefully it is not that bad.”

Odegaard is not Arsenal’s only injury concern with Rice substituted in the 79th minute at his own request with a back issue before England’s fixtures with Wales and Latvia this month.

“Well, he’s not alright because he asked me to come off, so that’s a shame,” Arteta explained. “He had pain in his back and he could not carry on, which is something very unusual for Declan, so we’ll have to assess him and see how he is.”