Odegaard lasted just 30 minutes of the 2-0 win over West Ham at the start of October and isn't expected to return to action until after the November international break. The Arsenal skipper suffered an MCL injury in his left knee following a collision with Hammers winger Crysencio Summerville. In the process, Odegaard unwittingly made history as he became the first player to be withdrawn before half-time in three successive English top-flight fixtures.
On the injury at the time, head coach Mikel Arteta said: "We haven't had him since the start of the season for one reason or the other. The shoulder twice and then this injury. We'll have to wait and see the extent of that injury, and we'll find solutions, but obviously he's our captain and is a player that gives us a completely different dimension with the things that he can do, especially in attacking."
Ahead of the Gunners' recent Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, Odegaard lifted the lid on how his recovery is going as he targets a return to action. "The rehab is going well. I had a few days off after the West Ham game, because I couldn’t do much work and had to rest my knee anyway, so I went to Norway," Odegaard penned in his captain's notes for the pre-match programme.
"But I’ve been back for a week now and working every day to keep my fitness up as well as trying to heal the injury, so it’s busy days at the moment. It's hard work and long days in recovery, but that’s what you want and I feel like it’s going well so far."