Odegaard, Calafiori, Merino – Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of North London Derby

Arsenal face going into this weekend’s North London derby against Tottenham without their preferred midfield trio.

The Gunners head to their fierce rivals looking to return to winning ways after being held to a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, he has a number of injury concerns.

Declan Rice and Mikel Merino will definitely miss the game, due to suspension and injury respectively, while Martin Odegaard is now a doubt after picking up an injury while playing for Norway.

Martin Odegaard

Injury: Ankle

The Arsenal captain was in action for Norway on Monday night against Austria when he suffered an injury in the second half of the game. He went down after colliding with Christoph Baumgartner, and received treatment from the medical staff before being replaced by Kristian Thorstvedt.

Norway boss Stale Solbakken was unable to provide a positive update on the playmaker, admitting it looked bad in the dressing room. Yesterday, Odegaard was spotted using crutches when boarding a flight home.

Riccardo Calafiori

Injury: Calf

The defender suffered the injury in Italy’s Nations League clash against France. There was initial optimism that he would be able to feature for the nation again this week, but he has since returned to Arsenal to continue his recovery.

Mikel Merino

Injury: Shoulder

What Arteta has said: “Very unfortunate. Yesterday, he had a collision, and he has a shoulder injury. It looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks. He was really excited, and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor, and Gabi landed on top of him, and it looks like he has a small fracture, probably.”

Possible return date: Vs Bournemouth (A) (October 19).

Declan Rice

Reason for absence: Suspension.

Return date: Vs Atalanta (A) (September 19).

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Injury: Knee.

What Arteta has said: “At the moment, it is difficult to say [when he will return]. It’s a bit slow the process of the first phase of that injury. It’s probably for the medical team to say more than that. He’s not done any training yet.”

Possible return date: Vs Leicester City (September 28).

Gabriel Jesus

Injury: Muscle

What Arteta has said: “He’s progressing really well. He had a muscle injury, and he’s doing quite a lot of the stuff already, so we expect him to be with us really soon.”

Possible return date: Vs Tottenham (September 15).

Kieran Tierney

Injury: Hamstring.

What Arteta has said: “He will be a few weeks.”

Possible return date: Unknown.