Arsenal have been handed some rare positive injury news after what has been a torrid last few days for Mikel Arteta's title chasers.
Arsenal dealt successive injury worries amid international break
It has been a week to test the nerves of every Arsenal supporter.
They travelled to Wembley on Sunday full of belief, then watched Nico O'Reilly head home twice in quick succession as Man City won the Carabao Cup final 2-0.
Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly in action with Arsenal's William Saliba
Without Martin Odegaard pulling the strings in midfield and without Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber available at all, Arsenal managed barely half a goal's worth of chances across the entire match.
It was a flat, laboured performance — the kind you produce when key players are missing and fatigue has set in.
Then the real worry began.
In the hours and days following the final defeat at Wembley, the injury announcements piled up one after another in a way that felt almost cruel in its timing.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the match Related
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The manager couldn't believe his eyes at Wembley.
Eze, already absent at Wembley, withdrew from the England squad with a calf problem, and now reports suggest he could be out for up to six weeks.
Arteta gave a concerning post-match update on the extent of the issue, confirming another scan would be needed in the coming days.
Timber, who also missed the final with an ankle knock, pulled out of the Netherlands squad.
Then came William Saliba — he had lasted the full 90 minutes at Wembley, but the effort had taken its toll, with the French Football Federation confirming recurring pain in his left ankle and a minimum 10-day rest period.
Saliba-Arsenal
Gabriel followed, withdrawing from Brazil's squad with knee discomfort picked up during the final itself.
Leandro Trossard also dropped out of Belgium's set-up with a hip issue.
Six first-team players, six withdrawals from international duty, if you include Odegaard, all in the space of 48 hours.
It is a brutal set of circumstances for a club still fighting on three fronts — Premier League title, Champions League quarter-finals against Sporting CP, and an FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton on April 4.
But amid the gloom, there is a genuinely encouraging update on the most important of the lot.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard poised to return after international break
According to the BBC's Sami Mokbel, there is genuine hope that Odegaard will be available immediately after the international break, with that Southampton FA Cup tie pencilled in as a possible return fixture.
Odegaard-Arsenal
The Arsenal captain was reportedly close to making the squad for the Carabao Cup final, but the club made the measured decision to protect him rather than risk a setback.
He has missed seven consecutive games with a knee problem — one he first picked up at Brentford back in February — and his absence has been felt.
Norway boss Stale Solbakken was candid about the situation: Odegaard will not be joining his country's squad, but that is by design.
"There is no reason for him to travel now. He has to train," Solbakken said, adding that the 27-year-old has been "very frustrated and grumpy" by the disruptions to his season.
Odegaard
Having managed just 13 league starts all campaign, that frustration is entirely understandable.
If Odegaard does return for the Southampton tie, Arsenal's creative fortunes will look very different.
They have coped without him, but having him back after a series of blows will be an undoubted boost.
Two and a half weeks of the international break now stand between Arsenal and the defining stretch of their season. The hope is that some of those six absentees will heal, and that Odegaard leads the way back.
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