Martin Odegaard missed back-to-back Arsenal games due to training ground concussion
Martin Odegaard’s absence from two of Arsenal’s recent games was due to a training ground concussion.
That’s according to a report from who claim the Norwegian was struck by a ball to the face before the Gunners’ 1-0 defeat to Newcastle in the Premier League.
Odegaard, who is Arsenal’s captain, was then unavailable for the win over Sevilla, before a hip issue kept him out of a further victory against Burnley.
The 24-year-old is also out of action for Norway during the international break, with his country’s Euro 2024 hopes hanging by a thread, needing to qualify for the play-offs.
The incident occurred at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground, with Odegaard expected to play before being withdrawn for the November 4 defeat.
Football Association rules state that a player needs to be cleared as symptom free by a doctor before returning to exercise, and then cleared again before full contact training and returning to play.
It’s believed that the hip issue is what has kept Odegaard out of international duty, although he’s expected to be back against Brentford in Arsenal’s next fixture on November 25.
Mikel Arteta earlier stated that the star midfielder was in contention to face Burnley, saying: "A few are still in contention.
"We need to give them 24 more hours to give them a chance to be involved in the game, but we won't know anything until tomorrow.
"He's [Odegaard] still racing [against the clock]. He's trying everything that he can so let's see. It's a possibility."
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Arteta will be hoping a number of other players can recover during the two-week international break, with Thomas Partey, Ben White, Cedric Soares, Gabriel Jesus and Emile Smith Rowe all dealing with issues.