Norway boss provides Martin Odegaard fitness update amid Arsenal midfielder's injury fears

Norway manager Stale Solbakken has provided an update on the fitness of Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard after he pulled out of the national team squad. The Arsenal captain has missed his club's last three games and will not play for Norway against Faroe Islands and Scotland this month.

Arsenal fans were left surprised when they saw their team sheet for the match against Newcastle United as Odegaard was not listed. The 24-year-old had not been carrying any serious injuries, but was reportedly receiving treatment for a small hip issue.

Martin Odegaard has gone on to miss further games against Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League and Burnley in the Premier League since then. The former Real Madrid man was apparrently hit in the face by a ball at London Colney and is suffering from a concussion.

Norway hoped to have Odegaard fit for their international engagements, but the midfielder hasn't been available. Solbakken revealed to Mirror Football that he knew of the possibility of his unavailability before the squad was named, and that it's not a serious problem.

“The club [Arsenal] are so reserved about it so I don’t know how much I should say about it."

“I have known all about the injury so I’ve never really planned on having Martin. We took him in the squad because at that time there was hope that he could play against Sevilla or Burnley at the weekend."

"But when it became clear early in the week that he probably wouldn’t make it, we stopped planning with him.”

“I can say that it is a very normal football injury that you’ll very likely recover from completely. It’s not career-threatening! He will play many more international matches for Norway.”

Martin Odegaard will leave the Arsenal squad to work out with the national team ahead of the friendly against Faroe Islands. The midfielder will, however, not play for his country in the friendly, as agreed with his club.

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Arsenal miss captain Martin Odegaard, need him back soon

Martin Odegaard has hardly missed a game for the Gunners since manager Mikel Arteta named him as the club's captain. His absence has been conspicuous in each of their last three games, especially against Newcastle United when the Gunners could not score.

Under the watchful eye of Arteta, Odegaard has developed into one of the best attacking midfielders in world football. The former Real Madrid man scored 15 goals and provided seven assists for the Gunners last season.

Kai Havertz has played instead of Odegaard for Arsenal in recent matches, but the German has yet to find his feet at the club. He has struggled to impact the team's attack, and Odegaard's absence has been felt greatly.