Arsenal Reveals Odegaard's Recovery Timeline as Arteta Issues Stern Warning to Rice
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta expressed serious concerns regarding midfield duo Martin Ødegaard and Declan Rice after Saturday's Premier League victory against West Ham United.
Ødegaard, who has already been sidelined this campaign due to a recurring unusual shoulder problem, was forced off during the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League match for the third occasion in the 2025–26 season. The club has now confirmed medial collateral ligament injury, causing him to pull out from Norway's international squad for the forthcoming fixtures to receive continued treatment from club medical personnel.
The captain has unintentionally set an unwelcome Premier League record in the process, becoming the sole player in the league's history to be replaced before the interval in three straight matches, according to Opta.
Rice netted the match's first goal, before Bukayo Saka secured the victory on a special occasion for the attacker, but the midfielder ended up being substituted with 11 minutes remaining due to discomfort. Both athletes, Arteta revealed later, will need additional evaluation to completely determine their individual problems.
Ødegaard Hasn't Experienced 'Much Fortune'
Arteta had addressed inquiries regarding his injured skipper during the post-game media briefing.
"I believe he experienced a knee-to-knee collision and instantly felt uncomfortable," the Spanish coach stated. "I just had a conversation with him, he's not optimistic about it. He's wearing a support brace, we'll need to await the medical team's assessment. But we haven't experienced much fortune with that situation either.
"We haven't had his services since the campaign began for various reasons, the shoulder issues twice and now this injury. We will discover alternatives but clearly our captain is a player who provides us with a completely different quality through his abilities, particularly in offensive play."
Currently, there is no established timeline for his rehabilitation and comeback, but the undisclosed extent could indicate anything from a one-week layoff to possibly 12 weeks.
Rice 'Not Fine'
During Ødegaard's mandatory absences, it has been vital for Arsenal that Rice has remained fit. Concerningly, Rice being unable to finish a match is "uncommon" and Arteta now confronts a scenario where both players could be unavailable.
"He's not fine because he requested to be taken off, so that's disappointing," the manager commented about Rice.
"He experienced back pain and couldn't continue which is something highly uncommon for Declan so we'll need to evaluate him and determine his condition."