Arsenal receive late quadruple injury boost before Tottenham clash as Martin Odegaard gives update

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has delivered a late injury update ahead of Sunday's Premier League North London derby with Tottenham Hotspur, which the Gunners could receive a quadruple boost for.

The Norway international has missed Arsenal's last seven games in all competitions with the knee problem he suffered against West Ham United on October 4, when he set an unwanted Premier League record.

Odegaard had previously sustained shoulder problems against Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, and against West Ham, he became the first player to be substituted in the first half in three straight Premier League starts.

The former Real Madrid starlet also missed Norway's World Cup-clinching wins over Estonia and Italy earlier this month, although he did travel with the squad to join in with the celebrations after they punched their ticket to North America.

National team manager Stale Solbakken delivered a worrying update on Odegaard during the international break, though, revealing that he was still "some distance away" from a return, suggesting that he would not be involved against Spurs, Bayern Munich or Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta was quintessentially unhelpful when asked for updates on team news in his pre-game press conference, but he did not directly rule Odegaard - or any of Arsenal's other injury doubts - out of the North London derby.

Martin Odegaard almost at "final stages" in recovery from knee injury

The captain recently opened up on his recovery in his programme notes, revealing that he is close to the "final stages" of his rehabilitation without directly confirming whether he would be available for the clash with Tottenham.

"This week I’ve been working really hard on my rehab – it’s going very well," Odegaard wrote. "I can feel I’m getting closer every day and getting towards the final stages, where it's a lot more exciting.

"I’ve been doing some pitch work and training, so I really feel like I'm getting there. That's the best part of the rehab, when you're getting closer to joining the team, you can do a lot more on the pitch and you can be more aggressive in the rehab.

"I feel like I'm getting stronger and stronger. I can't wait to be back now, we're on a good path and it's looking good. I'm really excited.

"I guess that's one of the good things about being injured. You get hungrier and more excited to play football again. That's the good part of it, I’m desperate to get going again."

Arsenal receive quadruple injury boost ahead of Tottenham clash

Odegaard's suggestion that he is not yet at the final stages of his recovery suggests that Spurs may come too soon, but Arsenal fans have been given reason to believe that the 26-year-old could feature in some capacity this weekend.

Arteta's squad took their customary pre-match walk from their hotel on Sunday morning, and journalist Simon Collings reports that Odegaard was seen with his teammates, alongside three other injury victims.

Gabriel Martinelli (muscle) and Noni Madueke (knee) were reportedly also spotted among the Arsenal team, alongside Riccardo Calafiori, who withdrew from the Italy squad earlier this month with a hip problem.

However, there was no mention of Viktor Gyokeres, who is at risk of missing out with a hamstring injury, or Kai Havertz, who recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee operation, according to Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann.

Arsenal are known to be without Gabriel Magalhaes (hamstring) and Gabriel Jesus (ACL) for Sunday's game, but the latter is now training fully again and could make his comeback in the next few weeks.