Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard's return timeline following another setback

The midfielder had suffered an ankle injury this September.

There is bad news regarding Martin Odegaard’s injury. According to reports, the captain of Arsenal will not return until December after experiencing a setback in his recuperation.

Odegaard has remained sidelined since suffering a ligament injury in his ankle while competing for Norway during the international break in September. However, despite a challenging schedule that has seen the Gunners play PSG in the Champions League and Manchester City & Tottenham in the Premier League, Arsenal have stayed undefeated in his absence.

In the absence of their master craftsman, Mikel Arteta has capitalized on his team’s physicality. The Gunners demonstrated their experience before the October international break with wins over Southampton and Leicester City. The fact that Mikel Merino is fully recovered from a shoulder ailment will also help them.

After Norway’s defeat by Austria, there have been varying rumours about Odegaard’s ankle injury and whether he would be able to return. A few reports said the captain might return to duty following the current international break, while others said he would be sidelined until November.

On Friday morning though reporter Con Harrison gave a worrying update. “The captain has experienced a setback in his recovery’ and is now not expected to return until December,” he stated. Given their impending run, it would be terrible news for Arsenal if that report is accurate.

The Gunners may have done well without Odegaard, but can they maintain their present level of performance against teams like Sporting CP, Liverpool, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Inter Milan?

Odegaard, meanwhile, gave an optimistic recovery update ahead of the 3-1 win over Southampton last Saturday: “In the last week or so I’ve made really good progress. I’m getting better and better by the day and feel it’s going well,” he said.

Arsenal have been impressive without their captain and should be able to do well until he finally returns from his injury.

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