Arsenal have provided an update on the injury Thomas Partey sustained on Monday night during their 3-0 Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
The Ghanaian signalled to the bench that he needed to be replaced just moments before Martin Odegaard tripped Wilfred Zaha in the penalty box. The Ivorian winger scored the resulting penalty himself to confirm three points for the Eagles as Arsenal's Champions League hopes were dealt a major blow.
To make matters worse for the Gunners, it's been confirmed that Kieran Tierney will miss the rest of the season, whilst the club have now offered an update on Partey's fitness ahead of this weekend's clash with Brighton. The warning signs are there and it certainly doesn't look good for Mikel Arteta and his top-four battling side.
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A statement on the club's official website read: "Our No. 5 was substituted during Monday night’s game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park after aggravating his right thigh. Thomas has since received further assessments, and a subsequent scan has shown muscle damage to his right thigh.
"We will continue to assess Thomas in the coming weeks, during which time he will also receive further specialist consultations. Everyone will be working hard to get Thomas back on the pitch as soon as possible."
football.london reported on Wednesday that Partey had suffered a thigh strain similar to the one he picked up during last season's North London Derby defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That injury saw him miss four Arsenal games as he was sidelined for a total of 26 days.
If it's indeed a similar injury, we can suspect that he'll be unavailable for around about the same amount of time. Hypothetically, that would almost certainly rule him out for the rest of April, meaning he could miss crucial games against Brighton, Southampton, Chelsea and Manchester United. It would also be a challenge to be fit for West Ham United on May 1.
Arsenal fans will of course be hoping that the result of the further assessment is good news. Until then, it's a nervy wait for the Gunners faithful.
