Mikel Arteta gives definitive update on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard returning to action

Martin Odegaard will not be a part of the Arsenal squad which takes on in the on Saturday.

has been out while playing for Norway on international duty on September 9. The captain has missed 11 matches since then and, although he has made progress, he is not yet ready to return to the pitch.

Arsenal manager has a handful of injury concerns ahead of his side's 12.30pm kick-off at St James' Park on Saturday, with Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu ruled out and a doubt.

"Riccy and Martin are out definitely," Arteta said in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning. "With Ben we don’t know yet. He could not train so let’s see what happens." There was a more promising update on Gabriel Magalhaes, who went off injured against last weekend: "If he can complete that training session today, he will be in the squad."

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Asked about Odegaard's recovery, Arteta added: "Now is the stage when he’s going to start to do certain work with us. Let’s see if he deals with pain if physically he’s able to compete. With the work he’s put in, I would be surprised if when he’s back training with us we don’t say he’s ready."

Odegaard isn't expected to be sidelined for much longer, with Norway manager Stale Solbakken giving a promising update last week. "Everything indicates that (Odegaard's injury) is going according to plan, then it is about the last steps when you are going to train with opponents and at team training," .

"It depends on how he responds to it, but we have a justified hope that he is ready. I've spoken to him quite regularly. Now that it's starting to progress, it's easier, but it’s not fun to be injured. At the same time, he has been very little injured, so it is probably a training matter for him."

Odegaard also provided an insight into the work he's been doing behind the scenes in the programme notes before the recent game against Shakhtar Donetsk. “I’ve been working very hard on my recovery in the past few weeks, and missing out on big Champions League nights like this just makes me more determined and motivated to get back as soon as possible,” he wrote.

“I’m feeling better and better each day, but when it’s an ankle injury you have ups and downs as well. Some days you feel really good, and then sometimes you can have a little reaction. But in general it’s getting better and I feel like I’m getting closer now.

“I’ve been doing a lot of work in the gym, and was on an anti-gravity treadmill recently, which is really good because it takes the weight off. Especially at the beginning, that was really good, to be running again like that when you’ve been offloading the leg and not using it as much as normal. That was a good feeling, helping me get back to moving in a normal way, and being able to run after not being able to do that.”

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