Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard withdraws from the Norway squad for their upcoming Nations League matches.
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Odegaard withdraws from Norway
The Norwegian Football Federation confirmed Odegaard’s omission on Tuesday.
The midfielder said he needs time to get in shape after recovering from his ankle injury.
Odegaard, 25, picked up the injury while playing for Norway on September 9.
He made his return during Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan in the Champions League last week.
However, Odegaard will have to rest for Norway’s upcoming Nations League clashes against Slovenia and Kazakhstan so he can “continue his rehabilitation.”
“I’ve been through a long training period and when you haven’t practiced football in the last nine weeks, it’s natural not to be 100% yet. I need to listen to my body, complete this rehab process and get my foot back in good shape,” Ødegaard said in a statement.
“The hope has always been to be able to play the national matches, and if I hadn’t played the match on Sunday, it would have been out of the question to participate for Norway anyway. But it’s a bad feeling to lose these games, I love playing for Norway and with this team. But I have great faith in the boys and wish them the best of luck — there are still good opportunities to win the group.”
Doctors advise Odegaard to rest
Norway’s team doctor Ola Sand said Ødegaard needs more time to get into game shape following his “complicated” injury.
“This has been a complicated ankle injury. With very few training sessions with the team [Arsenal] over the past nine weeks, it’s natural that the body is not 100% at this stage,” Ola Sand said.
“After thorough examinations and conversations, we have agreed that Martin will not be ready to play in the matches against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.”
“In consultation with him, we’ve agreed that it’s better for him to return to London to continue his rehabilitation there.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal will host Nottingham Forest after the international break.
