Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard reveals progress in recovery from ankle injury

Martin Odegaard has said that he feels like he “got away with” his ankle injury as the Arsenal captain works to return to full fitness.

Odegaard has been absent since suffering ligament damage while on international duty with Norway at the start of November.

Manager Mikel Arteta subsequently indicated that the midfielder could be out beyond the next international break due to a “significant” issue.

But providing a slightly more encouraging update on his progress, the 25-year-old revealed the injury sustained was not as bad as it might have been as he bids to bolster Arteta’s options again “as soon as possible”.

“It was a bad twist to my ankle, and I damaged some ligaments there, but it’s part of football and now I’m just trying to recover as quickly as I can,” Odegaard explained in his programme notes ahead of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup tie against Bolton.

“I’m moving forward, making progress and I’m feeling more positive every day. I’m working hard and my only thought is to get back as soon as possible.

“It’s something I’m not used to. I’ve been quite fortunate, if that’s the word, or have done well to avoid injuries in the past, but this is football and I have to get on with it. I think it was unfortunate to get the injury in the way that I did, but also it could have been worse.

“It was not a nice twist, and when it happened I felt it could be serious. I’ve injured my ankle before and the pain felt a bit different this time. That’s what scared me, but from what happened it could have been worse, so in that sense I got away with it a bit.”

Arsenal survived a tricky week unbeaten in Odegaard’s absence, following a win over Spurs in the North London derby with draws against Atalanta and Manchester City.

They face Leicester in their next Premier League game on Saturday before a crunch Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain next Tuesday, with Odegaard all but certain to miss out.

Arteta suggested that it will be a “matter of weeks” before the Norwegian returns, potentially raising the possibility that he could feature in the encounter with Liverpool on 27 October.