Martin Ødegaard
Martin Ødegaard
A captain who almost never loses his temper is the one you notice when he does. A late kick after the ball has gone is the other half of that picture.
Ankle knocks on international night become club problems by Monday morning. The player who says it will be fine in a few days is still the one who hobbled through the mixed zone.
Thursday is another Nations League game. The Premier League date after that is the one his club will circle.
READ MORE: Arsenal handed huge injury boost as star defender returns
Martin Odegaard was left furious and limping after a late challenge from Bernardo Silva in Norway’s 2-1 Nations League defeat to Portugal in Oslo. Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos scored either side of Erling Haaland’s equaliser.
Odegaard had just found Andreas Schjelderup from the edge of his own box when Silva caught him on the ankle in stoppage time. Silva, now at Real Madrid after leaving Manchester City, played on. Odegaard was seen mouthing at him and later walked gingerly towards the team bus.
‘He just kicked me down long after I had played the ball away,’ Odegaard told TV2. ‘I didn’t understand what he was talking about.’
‘It doesn’t belong on a football field. It’s a shame that people do that.’
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Martin Ødegaard speaking after Bernardo Silva’s late kick on his ankle in stoppage time in the game between Norway and Portugal:
“I took a hit on the ankle. It probably won’t be great tonight, but I hope it improves over the next few days. It was a senseless attitude from him.… pic.twitter.com/8IhPLZtwOz
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) September 28, 2026
Asked what he had said to Silva, he added: ‘I don’t think we should do that on TV.’
On the injury: ‘I got a knock on my ankle. It probably won’t be good tonight. But I’m betting it will be fine in the next few days.’
Silva’s response in the mixed zone was brief. ‘It’s football, my friend.’
Norway defender Leo Ostigard called the challenge ugly and late.
‘It’s very late. When you see it afterwards on video, it’s very ugly,’ he said. ‘It could well have been red. It’s terribly ugly. It’s just terribly bad.
‘These are the kinds of things we don’t want happening to our captain. When it comes so long after, it looks quite deliberate.
‘Last year he was unlucky with a lot of injuries and he can’t do anything about those things. They’re going to take him because he’s got the ball a lot in the middle there. Of course they’re frustrated, but you can’t do that.’
Odegaard is due to face Wales on Thursday. Arsenal play Leeds at home on 10 October. He has been central to Arteta’s midfield when fit and has a history of ankle and foot problems that make any late stamp a concern, even when the player himself is betting on a quick recovery.
The injury appears not to serious. Despite the limp, the captain completed the full 90 minutes. Martin Odegaard is hoping he will make Norway’s next game on Thursday.
Portugal sit top of the group. Norway have three points from two games after beating Denmark. The result is secondary for Arsenal. The limp is not. Until he trains cleanly in Oslo or at London Colney, the tackle stays an injury watch rather than a closed incident.