Mikel Arteta reveals when Arsenal expect Martin Odegaard to return in major boost

Martin Odegaard is expected to return before the next international break, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.

The Arsenal captain has been out since picking up an ankle injury while playing for Norway at the start of September, and the Gunners have been reluctant to put an exact timeframe on his recovery.

There had been reports that Odegaard had suffered a setback and his return could be delayed until December, but those claims have proved to be incorrect.

Asked at his press conference on Friday whether he expected Odegaard to be playing against before next month’s international fixtures, Arteta replied: “Yes, hopefully, yes.”

Odegaard is working hard on his recovery at Arsenal’s training ground and last week began running on an anti-gravity treadmill.

The midfielder is itching to get back as the Gunners face a huge run of games before the next international break.

Arsenal host Liverpool next week and then they have trips to Chelsea, Inter Milan and Newcastle before the next break in the calendar.

Odegaard would love to be back for those big games and Arteta is hopeful they will no more on his exact return date next week.

“He’s not going to be fit for this game [at Bournemouth on Saturday],” said Arteta.

“Next week will be a different story. In that later stage of rehab, where he is at the moment because he’s doing a lot of stuff already, he needs to clear some markers.

“There are certain things he needs to be comfortable with doing, especially with the ball. Next week will be crucial to understanding how close he is.”