Arsenal have been sent a warning over the fitness of captain Martin Odegaard, as Mikel Arteta prepares to welcome back the Norway star.
Arsenal chasing treble amid key injury concerns
The final stretch of an extraordinary Premier League season is upon Arsenal, and it should feel like a time of pure excitement.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta applauds fans after the match
Nine points clear at the summit with seven games remaining, still standing in both the FA Cup and Champions League, and within touching distance of a first league title since 2004 — the scale of what Arteta's side have achieved this season is remarkable.
And yet, returning from the international break, the mood at London Colney is coloured not just by anticipation but by a degree of anxiety that no title-chasing club would welcome.
A plethora of Gunners stars withdrew from their respective national squads over the past fortnight.
Declan Rice returned to Arsenal from England duty for "medical assessment" after admitting this month to feeling "shattered," sent back by Thomas Tuchel who confirmed he had been "in clear discomfort."
Bukayo Saka followed — joining the Three Lions camp late before being dispatched back to the club along with Rice.
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William Saliba pulled out of France duty with an ankle issue sustained at the Carabao Cup final, while Gabriel Magalhaes withdrew from Brazil with knee pain.
Jurrien Timber dropped out of the Netherlands squad as well, with Leandro Trossard also missing Belgium's games.
Eberechi Eze's calf injury kept him out of England's plans, while Noni Madueke suffered a knee issue in the Uruguay friendly.
Martin Zubimendi was sent home by Spain after discomfort in his right knee, and Piero Hincapie was substituted against Morocco and returned to London for assessment.
Rice-Zubimendi-Arsenal
The saving grace — and it is significant — is that most of those cases are expected to be precautionary.
Arteta will update on fitness at his press conference ahead of Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final at Southampton, and the broad expectation is that the bulk of his squad will be available for the defining games that follow.
Odegaard has not played a full match for Arsenal since December 30, but the expectation is that the 27-year-old could be back for Southampton.
His last appearance of any kind was a 13-minute cameo against Tottenham on February 22, and the knee problem that has kept him sidelined has been managed carefully.
Arsenal sent Martin Odegaard warning as manager makes 'worrying' claim
That being said, Aalesund manager and former Norway captain Kjetil Rekdal, in an interview with Aftenposten, sent a warning to Arsenal over Odegaard's long-term fitness.
Martin-Odegaard-Arsenal
The tactician even suggested that, due to Odegaard starting his career very early as 15-year-old, he may have to cut his career shorter than the average player, especially after all the wear and tear.
"Of course it is worrying," said Rekdal when asked about Odegaard's injury history.
"We have to remember that he played senior football when he was 15 years old. I am not saying that it does.
"But it could mean that the wear and tear is starting to take its toll on his body. Maybe he does not have such a long career in his 30s and up, like others who started senior football later.
"It could be bad luck, but he has had a lot of breaks now."
It is a legitimate concern.
Odegaard made his senior debut for Strømsgodset at 15, the youngest player to do so in Norwegian top-flight football in the modern era.
He joined Real Madrid at 16, with the accumulated physical demands of over a decade of senior professional football, beginning at an age when most teenagers are still in school, is not a trivial consideration.
Martin-Odegaard-Arsenal
Tony Adams recently lifted the lid on how Odegaard is extremely well liked and popular in Arteta's dressing room, and Arsenal will be hoping to have the ex-Galactico firing for years to come.
For Arsenal, of course, his return cannot come soon enough, but how long he'll be playing at an elite level remains to be seen.
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