Martin Ødegaard: Arsenal captain suffers ankle injury on Norway duty

• Martin Ødegaard suffered an ankle knock during Norway’s Nations League match against Portugal, telling TV2 it “probably won’t be good tonight.”
• Ezri Konsa played the full 90 minutes in England’s 3-2 defeat to Spain, then trained individually the following morning.
• Declan Rice has withdrawn from the England squad for load management.

Key updates from the international break

Two Arsenal players picked up fresh fitness concerns over the current international period, and the Martin Ødegaard injury is the one that will worry the Emirates most.

The captain took a knock to his ankle during Norway’s Nations League match against Portugal, and said so himself before the final whistle had even settled.

Ezri Konsa’s week has followed the same workload pattern. He played the full 90 minutes for England in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Spain.

He then swapped Tuesday’s group session for individual training at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground, alongside Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly.

Declan Rice adds a third name. He has withdrawn from the England squad for load management reasons, according to reporting by football.london and England team updates.

Arsenal now have three players, Ødegaard, Rice and Konsa needing close attention this week.

Martin Ødegaard injury: How it happened

The knock came from a challenge Ødegaard did not appreciate. “I got a knock on my ankle there, so it probably won’t be good tonight,” he told TV2 moments after Norway’s match against Portugal, flagging the issue before anyone else had.

He was equally direct about the tackle itself. “It doesn’t belong on a football field,” he told TV2, before adding: “It’s a shame that people do that.”

Norway’s staff have not gone further than his own words, and Arsenal are yet to have a full assessment. You can read our full injury update for the detail from that night.