Arsenal offered crushing injury update on Martin Odegaard as Norway boss makes telling admission about Gunners captain

Odegaard suffered an ankle ligament injury in the second half of Norway's win against Austria on September 9 and has since been unavailable for the Gunners. The midfielder said he was "scared" about the severity of the issue and it is not known how long he will be out for.

The 25-year-old was unavailable for the Norway squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Slovenia and Austria, and Solbakken admits he had long known that he would not be able to call on Odegaard.

"Far. He is far from being in the squad," he said at a press conference when asked about Odegaard. "We will see how far he gets during this national team break. I have known for quite some time that he was not relevant for this gathering."

The Gunners star will continue his rehabilitation while his national team-mates compete in the Nations League. First, though, Arsenal will meet Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.