Odegaard injury doubt for Norway’s Nations League meeting with Wales

Martin Odegaard missed Norway training on Tuesday after suffering an ankle injury in the 2-1 Nations League defeat by Portugal, putting his participation against Wales on Thursday in doubt.

The Arsenal captain was hurt in stoppage time when Bernardo Silva caught him with a late challenge from behind, after the ball had already been played. Silva was shown a yellow card for the tackle.

Odegaard later criticised the incident, saying challenges of that nature “don’t belong on a football pitch”.

Norway assistant coach Brede Hangeland called the tackle “ugly” and “dirty play”, but said Odegaard still had a chance of recovering before the Wales match.

“He was happy. He was in less pain today than yesterday,” Hangeland said.

“As I see it, there’s a very long time until the match – two and a half days. A lot can happen in that time.”

Norway will continue to monitor Odegaard’s ankle after his absence from training raised further concerns about his availability for the Nations League fixture.

The injury is also a concern for Arsenal, who have already lost Kai Havertz from the Germany squad during the international break because of a muscle strain.

Arsenal’s next Premier League game is against Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on October 10.