Odegaard’s injury a hammer blow as football continues to ignore player welfare

Morning.

The only place to start this morning is the injury suffered by Martin Odegaard during Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria. The captain’s foot got caught in a challenge, and if you watch the video, you can see his ankle twist right underneath him, before snapping back.

Ødegaard off with an nasty injury. Screaming in pain. Doesn't look good at all.

Hate internationals with a passion pic.twitter.com/SfRgnRoEAn

— kimmoFC (@kimmoFC) September 9, 2024

He clearly knew it was a bad one, and came off after some treatment. Right now, we have nothing much to go on because it’s still so soon after the injury. It can take a day or two to get the information we need, but it didn’t look good at all, and if he got away without damaging his ankle ligaments to some extent I would be absolutely amazed. I’d also be astonished if he were available for Sunday’s North London derby, adding to Mikel Arteta’s midfield headache.

Norway boss, Stale Solbakken, rather blithely said on TV afterwards:

We know it was an ankle sprain. With luck it can turn out OK, if the ligaments aren’t torn, but I’m not really sure Arteta will call me tonight to praise me.

Since Declan Rice’s red card against Brighton the discussion has been about how we configure the team without him, but the idea that we’ll likely have to go there without him and Odegaard seems pretty cruel. There’s no Fabio Vieira after his loan to Porto was sanctioned, Mikel Merino is injured after his unfortunate collision in training, and options are limited. Step forward Ethan Nwaneri, I guess – when you look at the squad and who could possibly come in and do something similar to what the captain does, he’s the obvious choice. It’s a lot to ask of a 17 year old though, and no doubt the midfield discussion will continue throughout the week.

I’ve seen a lot of talk about how Arsenal should never have allowed Odegaard to go away with Norway, having taken a heavy kick in the Brighton game – and I get that completely. I wish we were a bit more cynical in that regard, but it’s important to acknowledge this is a two-way street. Players want to play for their countries, and if you insist they sit games out when they feel they’re ok to play, you risk damaging your relationship with them.

For all the talk of what other clubs do in this regard, Man City sent their only striker away to play two games for Norway during this Interlull. Maybe they got lucky Erling Haaland didn’t get injured, maybe we got unlucky Odegaard did, but you can’t just ignore a player’s wishes. Maybe we need to be more persuasive, maybe we can do more, but it’s really not as simple as just saying no – and I think it’s also important to note that the players themselves have some responsibility here too.

For me, the bigger issue is what the hell we need these internationals for just three games into a new season, and why are there still no mechanisms that put some responsibility on national associations for the welfare of players? Clubs pay tens of millions of pounds in transfer fees for footballers, on top of massive wages/bonuses etc, who are then able to be plucked away by set-ups which are, in some cases, little more than amateur.

The manager or head coach doesn’t have to worry about whether Martin Odegaard is fit for the derby, or our first Champions League game away at Atlanta, or our trip the following weekend to Man City … once he’s fit again for the next set of internationals. It’s amazing to me that there isn’t a way for clubs to be properly compensated when players get injured on international duty. Why isn’t there a check-list which involves players, clubs and national associations which assesses risk? If a national team chooses to play someone who is carrying a knock, or playing through the pain to extent, they assume a punitive financial risk if that player gets an injury which keeps them sidelined for their club.

I know it’s the sort of thing that could easily be abused, depending as it would on full disclosure from all parties at all times, but when we have these conversations about player welfare, surely something like this needs to be part of it. The reality is we’re never going to have less football than we do now. Football as a money making machine demands more and more, from clubs and the likes of UEFA and FIFA. If we’re going to criticise the expanded Champions League format and nonsense like the Club World Cup and all these pointless internationals as increasing the demands on players, then we have acknowledge that clubs playing high-profile ‘friendlies’ in pre-season as money making exercises are part of this too. There are elements that are worse than others, but this is something everyone who works in the game has some responsibility towards.

It’s a discussion we had on the Arsecast Extra yesterday, and the only real solution is bigger squads. It’s something Mikel Arteta has said more than once, because he knows you can’t put the genie back in the bottle now. So, being pragmatic, a larger squad is all you realistically ask. I think it’s abundantly clear right now that the current schedule asks too much of the top players in the 25 man squad era. Even with the ability to use more subs, even with the improvements in fitness/personal training etc, the game is asking too much of them, and the sad reality is that the players pay the price.

Clubs and fans will feel like they suffer too, which is fair enough, but ultimately it’s the guy whose ankle sprains, whose ACL ruptures, whose hamstring goes twang, that really feels it. He’s the one who misses playing, he’s the one whose career can take a left turn from one second on the pitch. Let’s not also ignore the fact that we want top quality football all the time, and we’re asking players who are being run into the ground to perform at a high level in every single game, and that’s not realistic either. The overall quality of the game is another consideration, if you want to step back a bit.

So, all we can do this morning is hope that Odegaard’s injury isn’t as serious as it looks, and that the players we have remaining on international duty make it through their games safe and sound. After that, how we have a serious conversation about all of this is beyond me, because there are just too many vested interests pulling in opposite directions.

It has to happen though, it needs to happen soon, but I won’t hold my breath. Till tomorrow.

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