Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will not play for Norway in their upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.
Odegaard was omitted from Norway’s original squad for this week’s crucial fixtures as his side look to seal promotion from Group B3.
He flew out to Oslo on Monday for assessment by Norway’s medical staff to determine if he was fit enough to be involved having made his long-awaited comeback from injury for Arsenal in last week’s Champions League defeat by Inter Milan
Odegaard – who also captains Norway – then started and completed 90 minutes for his club in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League.
But it has now been decided that he needs more time to continue his rehabilitation and build full match fitness before being available for international football again.
“After discussions with the medical staff at the national team, we have unfortunately concluded that the situation is not good enough to play these matches,” Odegaard said.
“I’ve been through a long training period and when you haven’t practiced football in the last nine weeks, it’s natural not to be 100 per cent yet.
“I need to listen to my body, complete this rehab process and get my foot back in good shape. The hope has always been to be able to play the national matches, and if I hadn’t played on Sunday, it would have been out of the question to participate anyway.
“It’s a very bad feeling to lose these games, I love playing for Norway and with this team. But I have great faith in the boys and wish them the best of luck – there are still good opportunities to win the group.”
Odegaard suffered significant ankle ligament damage on his last appearance for Norway in the Nations League against Austria in early September, an injury which ended up ruling him out for two months as he was forced to miss 12 matches for Arsenal across all competitions.
He finally returned with five minutes off the bench against Inter at the San Siro before making his first start since August and completing the full match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
