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Arsenal hope to have their captain Martin Odegaard back available soon following a recent knee issue
Norway boss Stale Solbakken says he does not know whether Martin Odegaard will be fit for Arsenal's FA Cup quarter-final clash at Southampton, but he insists the 27-year-old is making "good progress" in his recovery.
The Arsenal captain was excluded from Norway's latest international squad for friendlies against the Netherlands and Switzerland as he continues to work towards his comeback from a knee issue.
Earlier this month, Solbakken had indicated Odegaard could return before the end of March or possibly at the start of April.
Yet in his latest update, he was unable to provide clarity on when the player will be back in action, telling Dagbladet: “When he will be ready, I don’t know. But it is good progress.”
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He added when quizzed on dialogue between the pair: “I haven’t talked to him. But we have texted a bit. The most important thing is that he is making progress."
Odegaard picked up the problem back in February when he tried to keep out Keane Lewis Potter's equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Brentford.
While Arsenal do not want to rush his recovery, they need their skipper back fit because Eberechi Eze is facing a spell on the sidelines with a calf problem.
Eze picked up the issue in the 2-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen, a game in which he scored, and he was forced to sit out of Arsenal's Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
The England international then withdrew from Thomas Tuchel's squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan amid reports he could be missing for between four and six weeks.
Mikel Arteta stated after his side's loss at Wembley that Eze was set to undergo another scan this week to see how the issue has healed.
The Spaniard is set to provide a big update on his squad on Friday when he speaks ahead of the trip to St Mary's.
Martin Zubimendi and Piero Hincapie are the latest Gunners stars to withdraw from international duty due to fitness niggles.
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have also returned to Arsenal while Noni Madueke left Wembley on Friday evening with his left knee in a brace following a nasty collision.
He is set to undergo tests to determine whether he has suffered any notable damage and the winger also received a blow to the face during the same incident.
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