Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed Martin Odegaard will be sidelined for 'a while' following scans on his ankle injury.
Odegaard went down on international duty and the Norway team doctor initially revealed it would take at least three weeks for the Gunners captain to recover, with that timeline only likely to increase if more in-depth scans revealed further damage.
While Arteta stopped short of putting a concrete time frame on Odegaard's recovery, he admitted he does not expect to see his captain for the foreseeable future.
"After everything was scanned, the scan showed he has got some damage, especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle," said Arteta. "We are going to miss him.
"I don't want to [give a timeline] because I am not a doctor but yes, it is something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months, but let's see."
Odegaard has missed just five Premier League games since joining Arsenal three years ago but will now double that tally at the very least, and Arteta warned his side they must adapt to life without the 25-year-old quickly.
"He is our captain, he is one of our biggest players without a doubt," Arteta explained. "He has been one of the most consistent players in the last two or three seasons.
"Our identity is very related to his way of playing and his way of behaving. We are going to have to deal with that. That is a great test for the team as well, of how capable we are to show maybe a different face and the fact we have other players and other options that can still be very effective."
Arsenal travel to face Atalanta in their Champions League opener on Thursday, before returning to Premier League action with a huge game away at Manchester City on Sunday. Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea are all on the schedule over the next six weeks.
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