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

Arsenal have been handed some injury concerns over the international break with Mikel Arteta now sweating over the fitness of Martin Odegaard ahead of the return of the Premier League this weekend.

The Gunners travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the North London Derby on Sunday afternoon. But they already know that they will be without two midfielders in Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, due to suspension and injury respectively.

There is now a doubt over club captain Odegaard, who has been in international action for Norway over the two week break. If he is unavailable, it would cause a real selection headache for Arteta with midfield options ahead of the clash already low.

It’s the second injury worry of the international break with new signing Riccardo Calafiori picking up a problem while away with Italy. With that in mind, here is the latest on matters in the treatment room at Arsenal.

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.

Arsenal now face an anxious wait to discover the extent of the injury. It is still to be seen if it is serious enough to rule him out of the North London Derby at the weekend.

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 Tamiyasu

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.