All 12 Arsenal games Martin Odegaard could miss as nightmare injury scenario emerges

Arsenal are set to be without captain Martin Odegaard for a significant period of time having sustained ligament damage while on international duty with Norway earlier this month. Mikel Arteta revealed the extent of his issue on Wednesday, just days before Sunday’s visit to Manchester City.

His absence comes as a real blow for the Gunners, who also have summer signing Mikel Merino sidelined with a shoulder problem. Odegaard has been a pivotal part of Arteta’s revamp at Arsenal and the boss admitted he side will miss the playmaker.

The manager also said the return timeline might be measured in weeks rather than months, but one report says that the Spaniard was speaking optimistically. The Daily Mail claims that Odegaard could be absent for around eight weeks.

That means, going from the point at which Arteta revealed the severity of the injury, the 25-year-old might not be back until midway through November. If accurate, he could miss a total of 12 games as a result.

That discounts the matches against Tottenham and Atalanta he has already sat out. After Man City, Arsenal play Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup.

The follows Leicester City at home in the Premier League before the visit of Paris Saint-Germain to the Emirates Stadium in Europe. Southampton at home and Bournemouth away sandwich the international break in October before Arsenal welcome Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. Liverpool then come to town in the final fixture of October.

The first match of November will likely be a League Cup fourth round tie in midweek before the weekend league trip to Newcastle United. Then follows Inter Milan away in Europe before a road trip to Chelsea the following weekend.

That takes the calendar up until the November international break, when Odegaard would return if the eight-week diagnosis is indeed correct. It would mean the Gunners are without their skipper for big matches against Man City, PSG, Liverpool, Inter and Chelsea.

Games Odegaard might miss

[Premier League fixtures unless otherwise stated]

September

Sunday – Man City (A)

Wednesday – Bolton (H), League Cup

Sat 28th – Leicester (H)

October

Tue 1st – PSG (H), Champions League

Sat 5th – Southampton (H)

Sat 19th – Bournemouth (A)

Tue 22nd – Shakhtar Donetsk (H), Champions League

Sun 27th – Liverpool (H)

Wed 30th – Potential League Cup Fourth Round tie

November

Sat 2nd – Newcastle United (A)

Wed 6th – Inter Milan (A), Champions League

Sun 10th – Chelsea (A)