Martin Odegaard has been included in Norway's squad for next month’s international games in what is a huge injury boost to Arsenal.
The Gunners captain was forced off with a shoulder injury in the first half of Saturday's 5-0 win over Leeds United. The 26-year-old appeared to be in a great deal of pain as he made his way off the Emirates Stadium pitch.
football.london reported on Monday that the injury is not thought to be serious, however. Mikel Arteta's side travel to Liverpool on Sunday and Odegaard, at this stage, remains a doubt.
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In what could be seen as a boost, though, Norway have included Odegaard in their squad for fixtures against Finland and Moldova next month. Stale Solbakken's side play Finland in a friendly on Thursday, September 4 before hosting Moldova in a World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday, September 9.
Arsenal also lost Bukayo Saka to a suspected hamstring injury in the game against Leeds. Speaking after the match, Arteta could not hide the worries. "Those are the negatives of the day," he said. "So Martin felt something in his shoulder when he landed. We don't know. We'll have to scan him tomorrow and understand a bit better.
"And Bukayo, while he was running with the ball, carrying the ball, wrestling with the defender, he felt something in his hamstring. So let's see. I think it's the other one. It's not the same one as the previous injury.
"But yeah, I mean, we've been two weeks and we already lost Kai, Martin and Bukayo. So it tells you how well-equipped you have to be in this league to manage and to maintain the level that we want."
Saka, in particular, is not likely to face months on the sideline. Instead, he could be back shortly after the upcoming international break. "He felt something while he was sprinting," explained Arteta.
"That's never a good sign. We'll have to wait tomorrow [Sunday]. Speak to the doctors as well and understand better what he does. But he's had these injuries before. He knows exactly the feeling of that. So let's wait."
