Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has shed new light on the injury sustained by captain Martin Odegaard on international duty ahead of Sunday's clash with Tottenham.
Arteta risks being without his captain and creative lynchpin for the north London derby after he limped off during Norway's Nations League match with Austria on Monday.
The Norwegian team doctor revealed that Odegaard's ankle is 'unlikely' to be fractured but his issue would take at least three weeks to clear up.
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Gunners manager Arteta was comparatively reluctant to put a timeframe on his skipper's return to action, and even seemed to suggest that he is not completely out of the running to face Spurs.
"We need some more tests," he said during a press conference on Friday. "Let’s see what happens in the next day or so. This afternoon probably. Let’s see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back.
"Martin wants to be here every day but we have to wait and see. I leave that to the doctor. He’s willing and he wants to be present in every game. We need to make sure we know first how good he is or not. Players with 48 hours are always available. Let’s see what happens."
Declan Rice will serve a suspension on Sunday after picking up two yellow cards against Brighton before the international break. That, coupled with Odegaard's injury blow, looks set to force Arteta into fielding an experimental midfield.
With two spaces to be filled alongside Thomas Partey; Kai Havertz is in contention to be moved back from his centre-forward role, Jorginho may be brought on from the bench, or 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri could be given a huge chance to impress.
Though Arteta will not be at full strength, his ranks have been boosted by the arrival of Sterling on loan from Chelsea. And the manager has revealed that a matter of seconds on the phone was all it took to convince him about the move.
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"I knew straight away after 10 seconds that we had to bring him because he really wanted it," said Arteta, who previously worked with Sterling when he was Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City.
"After 10 seconds I knew already before the next questions that we had to bring him here."
Sterling will be in contention to feature on Sunday but fellow new signing Mikel Merino needs more time to recover from a shoulder issue. Arteta confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Jesus are both set for late fitness tests.
