Arsenal get Martin Odegaard ankle injury clarity as scan results shared by Norway assistant
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard had tests done on his ankle to check there was no major damage
Norway's assistant coach Brede Hangeland has revealed the national team doctor Ola Sand has carried out scans on Martin Odegaard's ankle - which have revealed no major damage.
The news comes as a boost for Arsenal, who have already lost first-choice centre-forward Kai Havertz to a hamstring injury in the opening weeks of the international break.
However, Odegaard remains in contention to feature for Norway in Thursday's Nations League match against Wales in Cardiff despite suffering an issue in the closing stages of Sunday's 2-1 home defeat to Portugal in Oslo.
It's been well documented that the 27-year-old was left grounded following a needless late challenge from Bernardo Silva, who appeared set on leaving his mark on the Gunners skipper as Portugal battled to see out their lead.
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But Hangeland has made it clear all is well following those tests, explaining: “Ola Sand has that under control. As far as I understood, there was nothing dramatic in those [X-ray] images.
"The most important thing is that the guy is feeling better. The images show a snapshot, while he’s still recovering. And the progress is positive.”
Despite Odegaard's "progress" he was unable to train with Norway on Tuesday and was one of two key absentees from the session.
Hangeland did add, prior to training, that Odegaard was in good spirits though, explaining: “Martin was in the breakfast room, he was happy and he had less pain in his ankle than yesterday.
"It is a long time until the next match. It is a full two and a half days. A lot can happen in that time."
Boss Stale Solbakken also hinted Norway will not be taking any risks. He noted that there was frequent dialogue between his doctors and Arsenal's medical staff and that Norway were in the know when it came to all of the information on Odegaard and other players' load.
Norway assistant Brede Hangeland has issued an update on Martin Odegaard
The Scandinavian nation have two matches left before their stars return to their respective clubs. After Wales, there's a tense trip to Portugal where Odegaard will undoubtedly form part of the pre-match build-up.
He wasn't shy of sharing his true thoughts on Bernardo's challenge in the aftermath of Sunday's game.
Norway defender Torbjorn Heggem has already made it clear the squad would be wrong to solely focus on getting "revenge" for Odegaard by striking back at Bernardo when the two teams collide.
Heggem said: "At least it's not something you can say outwardly [that you're going to get Bernardo back].
"I haven't thought much about it. It was a bad tackle and of course we want to support our captain, but a revenge tackle is rarely something you resort to."
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