Arsenal star Martin Odegaard has given a positive injury update ahead of the north London derby while on international duty.
The midfielder has been missing from action since the start of October with a knee-injury, forcing table-toppers Arsenal to reshuffle their pack in midfield as they try and win their first Premier League title since 2004.
Declan Rice has been a mainstay, anchoring the team from the middle, with £60million new signing Eberechi filling the gap Odegaard has left.
The Norwegian, though, could be back sooner rather than later. Speaking to TV2 while away with his country, he said of the injury: ‘It’s moving forward. The match today [Sunday] came a little too early.
‘But it’s starting to look better, so hopefully I’ll be back soon.’
Arsenal are in somewhat of an injury crisis, after defender Gabriel limped off while playing for Brazil at the Emirates on Saturday.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has given a major fitness update during the international break
He has missed nearly two months of action with a knee issue but could be set to return soon
They have already been without Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke as well as Odegaard of late, while Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz have also missed game time.
Riccardo Calafiori also left Italy duty during the break having been nursing a hip injury over recent weeks.
It is understood, though, that he will likely be fit in time for this weekend’s game with his club.
When asked before the international window if any of his absent players would be back after the break. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: ‘Some of them, all of them, I don’t know.
‘There are a lot of things that have to happen in the next two weeks and everything has to be perfect, but I think we’ll be very close with most of them to be in a really strong position.’
Norway, meanwhile, thrashed Italy 4-1 on Sunday, with Erling Haaland scoring twice. The side have also qualified for next summer’s World Cup.
