Arsenal injury news latest amid Martin Odegaard worry and Declan Rice decision

Arsenal will be hoping that a couple of players recover from their respective injuries during the October international break. The Gunners secured a 2-0 victory against West Ham on Saturday to climb to the summit of the Premier League table, taking advantage of Liverpool's loss to Chelsea later that day.

Mikel Arteta must now endure nearly a fortnight before Arsenal return to Premier League duty, with their next fixture against Fulham scheduled for October 18. In the meantime, the Gunners will be hoping that several fitness doubts clear up ahead of top-flight football's return.

Martin Odegaard is the latest name to be added to the injury list, with the Arsenal captain forced off during the first half of the win over West Ham, reports football.london. Arsenal subsequently revealed that Odegaard had sustained a medial collateral ligament injury in his knee, consequently withdrawing from the Norway squad.

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Odegaard has been managing a shoulder injury for most of the season, and may now face a spell on the sidelines recovering his latest injury setback. Arteta offered an assessment of Odegaard's fitness following the victory over West Ham, delivered before the full severity of the injury was confirmed.

“I think he [Odegaard] had a clash, knee-to-knee and immediately he was uncomfortable," Arteta said in his post-match press conference on Saturday. "I just spoke to him and he is not positive about it.

“He has got a brace on. We will have to wait from the doctors but we have been very unlucky with that. Yeah, we haven’t had him since the start for one reason or another. The shoulder twice and then this injury.

“We have to wait and see the extent of the injury. We will have to find solutions, but obviously he is our captain and is a player that gives us a completely different dimension with things that he can do, especially in the attack. Let’s wait and hopefully it is not that bad.”

Arsenal may also have concerns over Declan Rice's fitness, after the midfielder was withdrawn with a suspected back problem during the win over West Ham. Arteta offered an update on Rice's potential injury following the victory, although there is still the expectation that the midfielder links up with the England squad this week.

"Well, he's not alright because he asked me to come off, so that's a shame," said Arteta on Saturday.

"So, he had pain in his back and he could not carry on, which is something very unusual for Declan, so we'll have to assess him and see how he is."

Arsenal were already without Gabriel Jesus, Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz through injuries prior to the victory over West Ham. Piero Hincapie has also been ruled out with a groin injury but is expected to make his comeback following the international break.

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