Arteta hopeful of Ødegaard return within 2 weeks

Arsenal will remain without captain Martin Ødegaard for Wednesday's Carabao Cup fourth round clash at Preston North End but manager Mikel Arteta said he is hopeful the Norwegian will return to fitness before the start of the November international break.

Arteta has been ruing an ever-growing injury list, with Ødegaard sidelined since September with an ankle injury and defender Riccardo Calafiori suffering a knee injury during their 1-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Oct. 22.

Calafiori missed Sunday's Premier League clash, a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Emirates, where defenders Gabriel Magalhães and Jurriën Timber were both forced off in the second half to leave Arsenal with largely a makeshift backline.

"Ødegaard has been on the grass for a few weeks and hopefully he'll be back before the international break. Calafiori will be out for a few weeks I would say," Arteta told reporters on Tuesday.

Arsenal's last game before the international break is a visit to Chelsea in the Premier League on Nov. 10. During the international break Norway play Slovenia away on Nov. 14 and host Kazakhstan on Nov. 17 in the Nations League B Group 3.

"We're still assessing Gabriel. It doesn't look that bad. He was much better the next day. Too soon to say when he'll be out," Arteta added.

"Jurrien [was] too tired to continue the game but there is no new injury there at all."

After the League Cup match at Preston, Arsenal visit Newcastle United on Saturday in the Premier League.

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.