Norway manager Stale Solbakken has admitted that Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard is “far away” from being called up for an international call-up.
Odegaard went down with an ankle injury during the international break in September and admitted he was “frightened” by the severity of his latest knock, for which no formal recovery timetable has been released.
Odegaard was never expected to be called up for this latest squad, but Solbakken confessed after his call-ups were revealed that the arsenal the midfielder was not even in his thoughts, such is the importance of his injury.
“He is far from being in the squad,” Solbakken told the media. “We’ll see how far he goes during this national team break. I’ve known for a while that he wasn’t relevant for this meeting.”
Solbakken, however, suggested that Odegaard could still be asked to join the Norwegian squad to provide some of his leadership.
“It is possible that he will come, but it depends a little bit on his rehabilitation – how he adapts there,” explained Solbakken. “I haven’t spoken to him in four or five days.”
Odegaard has already spent four weeks on the sidelines, but reports suggest he could need at least another eight to regain his strength.
