(Reuters) – Norway will be without captain Martin Odegaard for their Nations League matches against Slovenia and Kazakhstan as the Arsenal midfielder needs time to get match fit after recovering from an ankle injury, the Norwegian Football Federation said on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old came off the bench in added time during Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan in the Champions League last week, having had two months on the sidelines due to the injury which he had picked up on international duty.
Odegaard then played the full 90 minutes of Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
“This has been a complicated ankle injury. With very few training sessions with the team (Arsenal) over the past nine weeks, it’s natural that the body is not 100% at this stage,” national team doctor Ola Sand said in a statement.
“After thorough examinations and conversations, we have agreed that Martin will not be ready to play in the matches against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.
“In consultation with him, we’ve agreed that it’s better for him to return to London to continue his rehabilitation there.”
Odegaard has 61 caps for Norway, who are top of Group B3 but level on seven points with Austria and Slovenia after four matches. Kazakhstan are bottom with one point. Norway visit Slovenia on Thursday and face Kazakhstan in Oslo on Sunday.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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