Arsenal handed major injury blow as timeline of captain Martin Odegaard's recovery CONFIRMED

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is expected to be sidelined for a further six weeks with knee ligament damage. 

Odegaard, 26, was forced off in the 30th minute of Arsenal's 2-0 win over West Ham before the international break.

The Norwegian sustained the injury in a clash with Crysencio Summerville in what manager Mikel Arteta described as a 'knee on knee' collision.

Arsenal did not initially disclose the timeframe for the midfielder's recovery, only confirming that he had done damage to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

But it has now been reported by BBC Sport that he will be out until the end of the next set of international fixtures in mid-November.

It means that Odegaard will likely miss four Premier League fixtures and a further two in the Champions League. 

The first match after the next international break is the north London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates, on November 23, but it remains to be determined if Odegaard will recover in time for the clash.

The injury is yet another blow for Arteta and his team, who have been without their captain for the majority of the campaign so far.

By being forced off against West Ham, Odegaard set an unwanted Premier League record by becoming the first player to be substituted before half-time in three consecutive matches.

The Arsenal captain had previously been taken off in wins over Leeds and Nottingham Forest due to an ongoing shoulder problem. 

Arteta was evidently concerned about his captain's possible absence following the 2-0 win over the Hammers on October 4, which saw them climb to the top of the Premier League at Liverpool's expense.

'I just spoke to him, he's not positive about it, he's got a brace on,' Arteta said post-match. 'We'll have to wait and see from the doctors, but we haven't been very lucky with that either. 

'We haven't had him since the start of the season for one reason or the other. The shoulder twice and then this injury.

'We'll have to wait and see the extent of that injury, and we'll find solutions, but obviously he's our captain and is a player that gives us a completely different dimension with the things that he can do, especially in attacking.'

Odegaard was forced to pull out of Norway duty this month due to the injury, and missed his country's 5-0 thumping of Israel on Saturday.

Eberechi Eze has been slotting into the advanced midfield role in his skipper's absence, and it is expected that he will resume the position for the next month.

Arteta has also been known to play Mikel Merino in a triangle with Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice, deploying this formation against Liverpool and Manchester City.

But he faced much criticism for his conservative tactics in both games, dropping five points overall, and has since played a more progressive side with Eze in the No. 10 role.