Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard says he is making progress with his recovery from an ankle ligament injury, although he does not yet know a date for his return.

The midfielder was writing in his captain’s notes column in the club’s match programme for the visit of Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

“It was a bad twist to my ankle, and I damaged some ligaments there, but it’s part of football and now I’m just trying to recover as quickly as I can,” he wrote.

“I’m moving forward, making progress and I’m feeling more positive every day. I’m working hard and my only thought is to get back as soon as possible.”

The Norwegian has missed Arsenal’s past three games – a win in the north London derby, followed by successive draws away to Atalanta in the Champions League and against Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

While the midfielder remains sidelined, he did share his relief that the injury was not as serious as first feared.

“I’ve injured my ankle before and the pain felt a bit different this time. That’s what scared me, but from what happened it could have been worse, so in that sense I got away with it a bit,” he said.