Martin Odegaard Injury: Progress, Potential Return Date for Arsenal Star

Martin Ødegaard shook off the unwarranted assault from Bernardo Silva to start and star for Norway in Thursday’s Nations League trip to Wales.

The Arsenal captain had been a doubt heading into the midweek fixture after a spiky confrontation with his former Manchester City foe Silva, who dished out a demonstrably late challenge in the closing stages of last week’s clash between Norway and Portugal.

Ødegaard broke the trend of injury withdrawals by powering through the play the full 90 minutes on Thursday, threading a delightful through ball for Oscar Bobb who opened the scoring. Norway would tumble to a surprise 2–1 defeat after playing the entire second half with 10 men, but Ødegaard managed to come through mercifully unscathed. No thanks to Bernardo Silva, however.

Bernardo Silva’s Response to Odegaard Tackle

Martin Odegaard — Ødegaard is not yet ruled out of future matches. | Lise Åserud/NTB/AFP/Getty Images

Silva lost no sleep over a bad tackle on Ødegaard during Sunday’s UEFA Nations League match between Portugal and Norway in Oslo.

The Real Madrid midfielder, only on just as a substitute at the end of the game, seemed to pick up the Manchester City-Arsenal rivalry when he saw Gunners captain Ødegaard on the ball deep into time added on.

Portugal led 2–1, but as Norway looked for an equalizer, Ødegaard started a move on the edge of his own penalty area. As Silva approached, the Norway captain accelerated to his left to feed the ball into midfield. Ødegaard played the pass forward, but Silva kicked him from behind after the ball was already gone. That he made contact with his left leg from that direction, rather than coming across the front with his right leg, suggests it was not a genuine attempt to win possession.

There was also enough time from the ball being released for Silva to pull out of any tackle altogether. In NFL terms, this was a case of roughing the passer.

“It’s a head-scratcher from him ... just kicks me down long after I’ve played the ball away,” Ødegaard told local broadcaster TV2 afterwards.

“It’s a pretty deliberate kick,” Norway teammate Andreas Schjelderup similarly told Dagbladet. “It’s pretty ugly. The fact that [Silva] is not being punished more is a bit strange.”

Silva was shown a yellow card for the foul, although it is clear Norway’s players would rather it have been red instead. Ødegaard, whose 2025–26 season was seriously limited by injuries, was furious and immediately confronted his opponent.

“I don’t think we should [say] that on TV,” was his response when asked what he’d said to Silva.

Despite the anger from Ødegaard, the Norway team, Norwegian fans and Arsenal supporters, Silva himself clearly thought nothing of it. He was pressed for a response by reporters when exiting the stadium via the media mixed zone and said only, “It’s football, my friend,” eliciting a reaction of shocked groans from those in the vicinity.

What Injury Has Martin Odegaard Been Carrying?

Martin Ødegaard limping as he leaves after the match pic.twitter.com/5u5yXlZUlm
— ØnlyØdegaard (@OnlyOdegaard) September 27, 2026

When Ødegaard had left the stadium and was headed towards Norway’s team bus, video footage captured showed the Arsenal player walking with a slight limp.

He just called it a “bump on my [left] ankle” which suggested it could be no more than a contact injury that will result in swelling and bruising, but he did sit out Tuesday’s training session as a result of his issue.

Ødegaard’s injury problems last season were primarily knee-related, with one muscle injury that may have been a consequence of lacking fitness after an existing absence, and a hurt shoulder.

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