Arsenal Captain in Final Stages of Recovery from Injury after 2 Months Out

FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
TT

Arsenal Captain in Final Stages of Recovery from Injury after 2 Months Out

FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is in the final stages of his recovery from an ankle injury after nearly two months out, manager Mikel Arteta said Friday.
Arteta said Odegaard wouldn’t play against Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday but didn’t rule the midfielder out of the trip to Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
“Now is the stage where he is going to do certain work with us. Let’s see how he deals with pain and if his movement is natural enough,” Arteta said.
“He’s physically now at the level required to compete. With the work rate and hours he has put in, I’d be surprised that the moment he starts training with us, he looks ready. Hopefully soon.”
Odegaard was injured playing for Norway in a Nations League group-stage match on Sept. 9 and Arsenal has missed his creativity and leadership. After collecting just one point from its last two games, Arsenal is in third place, five points behind leader Manchester City.
Arteta said left back Riccardo Calafiori would also miss the Newcastle game because of injury but fellow defender Gabriel will be in contention if he trains well on Friday.



Corinthians Knocked Out by Argentina's Racing in Copa Sudamericana Semifinal

Players of Racing celebrate after a Copa Sudamericana second leg semifinal match between Racing Club and Corinthians, at the Presidente Peron stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 31 October 2024. EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
Players of Racing celebrate after a Copa Sudamericana second leg semifinal match between Racing Club and Corinthians, at the Presidente Peron stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 31 October 2024. EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
TT

Corinthians Knocked Out by Argentina's Racing in Copa Sudamericana Semifinal

Players of Racing celebrate after a Copa Sudamericana second leg semifinal match between Racing Club and Corinthians, at the Presidente Peron stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 31 October 2024. EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
Players of Racing celebrate after a Copa Sudamericana second leg semifinal match between Racing Club and Corinthians, at the Presidente Peron stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 31 October 2024. EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni

Argentina's Racing beat Brazil's Corinthians 2-1 on Thursday and advanced to its first Copa Sudamericana final. The first leg in Sao Paulo last week ended 2-2.
Racing's rival at the Nov. 23 decider in Asuncion will be another Brazilian team, Cruzeiro, which reached the final after beating Argentina's Lanus 1-0 on Wednesday.
Corinthians opened the scoring in Buenos Aires with a back heel assist by Dutch striker Memphis Depay to Yuri Alberto. But Racing turned its fortunes around by converting a penalty kick in the 36th minute and three minutes later after a quick counter. Both goals came from Juan Fernando Quintero, The Associated Press reported.
Racing avoided a full field of Brazilian teams in the South American club soccer finals. The Copa Libertadores final will be contested by Atletico Mineiro and Botafogo in Buenos Aires on Nov. 30.
The 30-year-old Depay, who looks to continue playing for the Dutch national team, has a contract at Corinthians until the 2026 World Cup. His team is currently fighting against relegation in the Brazilian championship, which has seven more rounds to go this season.