Arsenal suffered yet another injury setback during their Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon, as club captain Martin Odegaard went down after a scramble in the box. The Gunners were already among the sides with the most injuries last season, and that trend appears to be continuing in the early stages of the 2025/26 campaign.
Following a Noni Madueke corner, the ball rolled to the edge of the box, where a coming together saw both Jurrien Timber and Morgan Gibbs-White collide with the midfielder, sending him toppling to the ground. Watch the incident below:
Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka are also currently sidelined, while William Saliba was forced off in Mikel Arteta’s side's most recent outing against Liverpool before the international break. Odegaard, only just back from a short-term setback, was substituted in the first half at the Emirates Stadium, and an injury expert has now cast their verdict on how long he could be out for this time.
Injury Expert Casts Verdict on Martin Odegaard Setback
Martin Odegaard
Physio Scout, an X account that specialises in football injuries, suspects the Norwegian international has suffered a recurrence of his previous shoulder injury, which only ruled him out on a short-term basis. However, a second injury in the same location raises fears of an extended recovery period. He wrote (see the full post below):
"Direct contact to the point of the shoulder, with arm pinned by his torso, brings concern for an AC joint injury. Same mechanism, and same shoulder as his previous shoulder injury.
Expected Recovery Times: Low-grade AC joint sprain: Less than 2 weeks; grade 2/3 sprain: 2–4 weeks.
"Previously, he returned in less than a week as low AC joint sprains are more of a pain management issue. However, injury to the same shoulder does bring additional concern, and may take longer to recover. Scans will be needed to confirm."
The substitution that brought Ethan Nwaneri on came just moments after Arsenal’s best spell of the game, when Mikel Merino’s point-blank effort was palmed away by Matz Sels.
The Gunners didn’t have to wait long to break through Forest’s stubborn defence, though, as Martin Zubimendi netted his first goal for the club with a thunderous volley from outside the box to give Arsenal a one-goal lead at halftime.