Martin Ødegaard and the hard truth that sometimes footballers get knacked

The dawn chorus of wailing and gnashing of teeth you could hear wherever you woke up on Tuesday morning was the sound of assorted Arsenal fans trying and failing to cope with the news that Martin Ødegaard was helped from the field during Norway’s win over Austria with what looked like serious knack. With a north London derby looming on the horizon and another of their star midfielders already on the Naughty Step, the last thing Gunners needed to hear was that their beloved captain had jiggered his ankle and left the field in a flood of tears. As radio switchboards and Social Media Disgraces lit up, some Arsenal fans immediately called for an outright ban on international football. A wheeze that predates the club they support by a full 12 years, how dare it be allowed to undermine their latest title tilt?

The packed calendar has also been blamed for Ødegaard’s misfortune, an argument that might hold water if it had befallen him seven or eight months down the line. As things stand, this was only the Norwegian’s fifth game in three weeks after a long and leisurely summer break; in the pantheon of Europe’s elite footballers, few came into the season more rested and raring to go than Martin and his international teammate Erling Haaland. The wisdom of having internationals this early in the season has also been questioned, mostly by people who seem oblivious to the fact that it is an annual ritual that dates back at least 50 years. While it is true Ødegaard shipped a heavy blow to his ankle in Arsenal’s most recent Premier League outing against Brighton, he had since come through 90 minutes unscathed for Norway against Kazakhstan. Sometimes footballers just sprain their ankles, whether it’s while representing their country, training with their club or doing something as mundane as descending stairs.

The good news for Arsenal fans is that while Ødegaard was spotted boarding a private plane back to the warm embrace of club physios, opinions on the subject of just how serious his knack might be seem mixed. While Norway manager Ståle Solbakken said it “looked bad in the dressing room”, the team’s doctor, Ola Sand, offered a more optimistic view. “Yes, it’s a sprain and as those of us who played football know, with luck it can turn out OK if the ligaments aren’t torn. We will see, maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI.”

While there is no guarantee that their skipper will miss Sunday’s game against Spurs, if Ødegaard is ruled out at least there are no shortage of obvious replacements. Well, there would be if Emile Smith-Rowe hadn’t been sold to Fulham, new signing Mikel Merino wasn’t already knacked, Fabio Vieira hadn’t been farmed out on loan to Porto and Gunnersaurus was still as mobile as he was in his Jurassic-era pomp. With Oleksandr Zinchenko due to represent Ukraine against Czech Republic on Tuesday night, Gunners fans will be praying he comes through unscathed or Sunday’s team-sheet could feature the name of one Mikel Arteta.

Join Scott Murray at 7.45pm BST for Nations League updates of England 3-0 Finland.

What did I make of it? Wet!” – Craig Bellamy enjoys his first win as Wales manager amid a biblical soaking in Montenegro.

Oslo Ødegaard-ouch overshadows Österreich occasion. Over” – Peter Øh Öh Oh.

Todd Boehly is, per Big Website, ‘focused on establishing a culture of winning’. Not to put too fine a point on it, Todd, but after 17 trophies in 19 years, exactly what do you think we had before you showed up?” – John Kozempel.

Having witnessed with surprise Peter Allan’s amusing letter about dynamic pricing (Football Daily letters passim) get robbed of the prizeless letter o’ the day title, it occurred to me that this free, almost-daily publication is lucky it isn’t subject to dynamic pricing, otherwise Football Daily might be forced to pay us readers a substantial sum to read it” – Mac Millings.

Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Peter Oh, who wins a 7” vinyl copy of Manchester United Calypso, a soulful classic reissued by Be With Records. If you’re not a winner, visit their online store to pre-order your own. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.

He’s away at the moment, but Chaos in the Box, the new David Squires book, is coming. You can order it now through our bookshop and get a 20% discount.

There are some players who Football Daily assumes must be years into retirement, already on the way to getting their Uefa pro coaching licence, investing in Dubai property, getting involved in a soon-to-be-forgotten clothing line or just watching repeats of the Premier League Years with their feet up in their fancy homes. We had Victor Moses on such a list and assumed he must be fast approaching 40. Nope. “[Victor’s] had a fantastic career, been there and done it. He’s got an amazing CV. But alongside that he’s a really good lad, a quiet, unassuming, down-to-earth person,” gushed Rob Edwards as Luton announced the somehow-still-only-33-year-old’s signing on a free transfer. It says here that Moses had been playing at Spartak Moscow for the past few years after joining them from Chelsea in 2021 and left when his contract expired in the summer. We still can’t quite believe he’s active. Maybe if he scores a real-life goal for the Hatters it will sink in.

The former Ipswich and Scotland manager George Burley is undergoing cancer treatment. “It has been a difficult time, but I am feeling much brighter now,” Burley said. “In fact, I am able to get to matches at Portman Road and I am enjoying watching the team back in the Premier League.”

Chelsea have held talks over leaving Stamford Bridge and moving to Earls Court as they try to find a way of building a bigger stadium.

John Textor is considering giving Everton fans the chance to buy shares in the club if he succeeds in his £600m bid to take control from Farhad Moshiri. And yes, that if is working hard.

Stockport assistant coach Andy Mangan has been denied a move to – wait for it – Real Madrid after being refused a work permit due to Brexit rules. Ouch.

The Chinese FA has banned 38 players and five club officials for life after a two-year investigation into match-fixing and gambling.

Train, play, score, repeat. As he prepares for his 100th England cap, Harry Kane says he is never happier than when he’s banging in goals. “As an England No 9, you come up against the best strikers in the country, trying to take your place,” he blathered. “You have to be able to set a high standard every time you are in camp, every time you train or play … it’s kind of like my happy place.”

In news that will lead to yet more wailing from some Arsenal fans, the Key Match Incidents panel (yep, such a thing exists) has ruled that referee Chris Kavanagh was right to send off Declan Rice for tapping the ball away in the 1-1 draw with Brighton. “It’s a gentle touch but once the referee sees it, he has no choice,” blabbed the panel.

And in another blast from the past, 2009’s Nile Ranger (also still only 33) has signed for the Southern League’s Kettering Town. “You could see in the first half [against St Ives Town] he was rusty [but] in the second half he turned up,” whooped Poppies boss Richard Lavery.

Raphaël Jucobin runs the rule over France after a defeat to Italy and a win over Belgium, and comes to the conclusion that it really is about time Didier Deschamps ditched his ethos of substance over style.

Our WSL 2024-25 previews continue with No 2: Aston Villa.

Sweden’s Viktor Gyökeres should be considered Europe’s next elite-level striker. Ben McAleer gives sporting directors a top, top transfer target for January.

And the women’s transfer window is still open for business. Check out the latest moves in our interactive here.

1 June 1996: Scotland fans play Subbuteo outside Wembley in the buildup to Euro 96. What stands out here is the terrible kit clash between the two teams. You’d have thought they’d have a set of players wearing blue at the very least.