Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard joining up with Norway squad after injury return

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is travelling to join up with the Norway squad ahead of their games against Slovenia and Kazakhstan this week.

Odegaard made his comeback for Arsenal last week after being sidelined since the start of September, when he injured his ankle playing for Norway.

The midfielder came off the bench last Wednesday for the final few minutes of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Inter Milan in the Champions League, before starting and playing the full 90 minutes of Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.

Odegaard was initially left out of the latest Norway squad, which was named last Tuesday, but he is now travelling out to join up with the group.

It is currently unclear what part he will play in their Nations League games this week. Norway travel to play Slovenia in Ljubljana on Thursday, before hosting Kazakhstan on Sunday.

Odegaard is travelling to Oslo after speaking to Norway boss Stale Solbakken on Sunday night and will be assessed by national team medical staff upon his arrival.

“We’ll see how it turns out. The ankle, the medics and Martin decide this,” Solbakken told Norwegian news outlet VG.

Odegaard is the captain of Norway and they are currently locked in a three-way fight to secure promotion in the Nations League.

Norway are currently top of Group B3 on seven points, but Austria and Slovenia are also on the same number.

Despite Odegaard being left out of the initial Norway squad last week, it had always been a possibility that he would join up.

The midfielder had not made his comeback for Arsenal when the squad was announced and, as a result, he was left out.

Odegaard has since managed to play twice, including the full game against Chelsea on Sunday - when he created Arsenal’s only goal for Gabriel Martinelli during a 1-1 draw.

Arsenal badly missed Odegaard during his absence and will be hoping he returns from international duty fit. The Gunners are currently nine points off Premier League leaders Liverpool.