Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard suffers ankle injury ahead of north London derby

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was forced off with an apparent ankle injury during Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria on Monday evening.

The 25-year-old midfielder appeared to twist his left ankle after being tackled from behind by Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner in the 64th minute of his side’s Nations League clash in Oslo.

After a two-minute stoppage for treatment, the former Real Madrid playmaker tried to limp off the pitch unaided before being carried to the sideline by medical staff, where he was subsequently replaced by Kristian Thorstvedt.

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken said after the game that the injury “looked bad” in the dressing room, adding the midfielder will be assessed further on Tuesday.

Arsenal’s next three games are against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday before a trip to face Manchester City on Sunday, September 22.

Odegaard’s potential absence would be a major blow for manager Mikel Arteta, who is already without midfielders Declan Rice and Mikel Merino.

Rice is serving a one-game suspension after being sent off in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break.

Merino, who joined from Real Sociedad in a €32.5million (£27.4m) move in the summer, is out for up to a month after injury his shoulder in an innocuous coming together with Gabriel Magalhaes in his first training session with the squad.

Odegaard joined Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2021 and has gone on to make 156 appearances for the club since then, scoring 35 goals and adding 25 assists.

He has been named in the PFA team of the season for the past two years running, having played in all but four of Arsenal’s top-flight games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

(Mateusz Slodkowski/Getty Images)