Real Madrid: When will Martin Odegaard return from his injury?

Real Madrid standout Martin Odegaard suffered an injury over the international break, and it may be worse than initially thought.

After Real Madrid‘s embarrassing second-leg loss to Manchester City in August, manager Zinedine Zidane called up Martin Odegaard and brought him to the first team instead of loaning him to Real Sociedad again.

Odegaard had a promising Matchday 1 against his old club, La Real, but he hasn’t played a big role through the first six Matchdays. And now, he’s dealing with an injury after a strong international break, which included two assists for Madrid transfer target Erling Haaland against Romania.

According to a report from MARCA’s Hugo Cerezo, Martin Odegaard is expected to miss a month with a tear in his soleus muscle in his right leg.

When can Real Madrid expect Odegaard back? MARCA says that the Norwegian attacking midfielder will be out through the next international break and is targeting Nov. 29 as his return when Los Blancos face a usually-tough Deportivo Alaves.

Real Madrid won’t have Martin Odegaard for their first three Champions League fixtures

So in addition to missing this week’s Champions League opener against Shakhtar Donetsk and Saturday’s Clasico, Odegaard will miss the other Champions League first-round group stage fixtures against Inter and Borussia Monchengladbach. He will also miss a match against Valencia, though they shouldn’t be as difficult league opponents as they normally are.

Odegaard will be missed, and a few attacking players will have to step up without the left-footed midfield maestro in the lineup. Hopefully, Odegaard will be at his best when he returns, because he’s already been dealing with questions about a lingering knee injury that curtailed his effectiveness this past summer for Real Sociedad.

In the meantime, Isco will likely be asked to take on the biggest role in bringing on that creativity and attacking threat. He changed the game against Real Betis and tried his hardest against Cadiz. And, of course, he starred in both Clasicos last season, which bodes well for his potential involvement on Saturday.

As for Odegaard, we can only wish him the best in his recovery. It is hard seeing any player injured, but especially a promising, young talent.