Erling Haaland issues reaction to Martin Odegaard injury after Arsenal statement

Erling Haaland has told his Norway team-mates they must "do what they can" in the absence of captain Martin Odegaard to keep their World Cup dream on track. The Manchester City talisman, who fired the winner for Pep Guardiola's side in a 1-0 win at Brentford on Sunday, has reacted to Odegaard's withdrawal from the national team fold after the playmaker sustained a knee injury against West Ham on Saturday.

Norway have overseen a sublime World Cup qualification campaign to date, winning all five of their matches but they are yet to book their place at next summer's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico with Italy breathing down their neck.

Haaland admits losing Odegaard is a blow, telling Viaplay: "It's a shame and it's not good for us. We need him, so I hope it's not serious. I haven't spoken to him, but it didn't look good. We're going to miss our captain, it's tough.

"We just have to do the best we can without Martin. It won't be easy, as he is a big part of our game - but we have to do what we can without him - and I will do what I can to do that."

Football.Londonreported on Sunday morning that Odegaard had remained in the capital, as opposed to flying to Oslo to team up with the national team, after limping off against West Ham.

Mikel Arteta also revealed the attacking midfielder's knee was in a brace and following further assessment, both Arsenal and Norway decided he would not be able to participate in the upcoming national team camp.

A statement was released on Sunday confirming Odegaard's withdrawal after he suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee.

Arsenal are reluctant to put a timeframe on Odegaard's return but the early indications are that he is more likely to miss weeks rather than months.

Meanwhile, Norway have scored a whopping 27 goals during qualifying to date while they have only conceded three times. They travel to San Siro on November 16 to face Italy in the match that could decide their fate in Group I.

Nonetheless, Norway also face Estonia before that fixture and they also host New Zealand on October 14 in a friendly as they look to continue building momentum. They are currently six points clear of the Azzurri, who do have a game in hand.

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