‘Reasons to fear the worst’ – Arsenal player receiving treatment behind closed doors

Arsenal‘s Martin Ødegaard has received treatment after hurting his ankle in Norway’s 2-1 UEFA Nations League defeat to Portugal at the Ullevaal Stadion on Sunday. 

Last season, the midfielder struggled with multiple injuries, limiting him to 1,984 minutes from 34 matches for Arsenal.

His situation has improved a lot as he featured in every Gunners fixture this season. Last week, Ødegaard contributed two assists in the national team’s 3-2 win over Denmark.

On Sunday, the 27-year-old played the full 90 minutes against Portugal, where he hurt his ankle after receiving a kick from Real Madrid’s Bernardo Silva.

Early signs not positive for Arsenal player 

The Norway international had left the stadium at 12:03am local time, approximately 90 minutes after the match.

That’s according to TV2, who state Martin Ødegaard was ‘receiving treatment behind the closed doors for a long time’.

After the national team matches, he generally walks through the mixed zone. However, the Arsenal star skipped it and went directly towards the bus on Sunday.

The manner in which he left and his facial expression while leaving are ‘giving reasons to fear the worst’. In short, the early signs of his setback don’t appear to be positive for both Norway and the Gunners.

Arsenal star provides update

While he was leaving, TV2 caught up with the former Real Sociedad man to find out about his injury situation.

When asked whether he fears of missing Norway’s upcoming matches, he said: “I hope not, but I took a knock to my ankle there, so it’s certainly not going to feel great tonight [Sunday].”

Bernardo Silva suggested the Arsenal player to move on, by saying, “What tackle? That’s football, my friend.”

However, Martin Ødegaard was clearly unhappy with the incident even after the match.

“He just kicked me down long after I’d played the ball away. I don’t understand what he’s doing,” Ødegaard explained.

Silva spent nine years at Manchester City and left them for free at the end of last season. The Citizens competed with Mikel Arteta’s side and Liverpool for the title in recent years.

When asked whether the Citizens connection had anything to do with Silva kicking him, he added: “You’ll have to ask him. I don’t know what he’s up to. It has no place on a football pitch. It’s a shame people behave like that, but that’s life.”

The Gunners captain went on to add the Portuguese midfielder hasn’t apologised to him so far.

Four days ago, the player said it was difficult for him last season to deal with multiple setbacks. He can only hope the latest injury isn’t serious. There should be more updates on his situation from the Norway camp in the next few hours.