As this week enters the international match day, Arsenal has approved Odegaard to join the national team. Recently, Norway coach Solbakken talked about the recovery progress of the Gunners midfielder. ■About Odegaard's recovery progress Solbakke...
As this week enters the international match day, Arsenal has approved Odegaard to join the national team. Recently, Norway coach Solbakken talked about the recovery progress of the Gunners midfielder.
■About Odegaard's recovery progress
Solbakken said: "The progress is stable and is advancing steadily, but Odegaard is still some way away from a full recovery."
■Solbakken confirmed that Arsenal has approved Odegaard to travel to Oslo and Milan to join the national team.
Solbakken said: "He will fly to Oslo after completing rehabilitation training on Thursday. Then he will continue rehabilitation training with us and will be with the team from Thursday afternoon. I don't know the specific time of the flight, but he will always follow the team to Milan."
In the upcoming Thursday's game, if Norway defeats Estonia and Italy fails to score points against Moldova, Norway is expected to lock in the qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Currently, Norway leads the group with a goal difference of 26, while Italy's goal difference is only 10, which gives Norway an advantage in the competition for the top spot in the group. In addition, Norway defeated Italy 3-0 in a home match in June, which means that they also have the upper hand in their mutual records.
Previously, according to Football.london reports, Odegaard suffered a medial collateral ligament injury after a knee collision with Somerville during Arsenal's 2-0 victory over West Ham United in October.
The attacking midfielder is currently in a critical stage of recovery. He will continue to undergo rehabilitation training with the Norwegian national team's medical team later this week, and will also accompany and support his national team teammates. Arsenal have been careful not to bring Odegaard back too early, but they had hoped he would be back before the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on November 23.
At the same time, Madueke, Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are all gradually approaching their return, while Yokeres and Gabriel Martinelli are expected to return after the international break. The two had been sidelined due to hamstring and groin injuries respectively, and therefore were not called up by the Swedish and Brazilian national teams.
