Thomas Partey's injury status heading into this Saturday's North London Derby is still unknown, but Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been handed a significant boost regarding his fitness. The midfielder returned to Arsenal earlier than expected after picking up a knee injury while on international duty with Ghana.
Partey missed Arsenal's fixtures against Fulham, Aston Villa and Manchester United, and only made his return to the side in the Gunners' dominant 3-0 win over Brentford on September 18. Arsenal fans would have had their head in their hands when he suffered another setback on international duty, but there has been a positive update regarding the 29-year-old.
While no timeframe has been put on the injury, Ghana boss Otto Addo has painted a promising picture. “Hopefully Thomas will be healthy very, very soon,” he said. “We didn’t want to take that risk in a friendly game to play him against Brazil, but surely playing a player like him against a squad like Brazil would have been helpful.”
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The fact Addo says they didn't want to 'risk' Partey against Brazil suggests he could have played if absolutely needed, but the Ghana staff decided against it. Now back in north London, the midfielder has time to rest and recover ahead of Saturday's clash against Antonio Conte's Tottenham side.
Despite his importance to Arsenal, history suggests that Arteta will be in no rush to put Partey into the starting XI if he is still carrying a knock. Ironically, Partey was in a similar situation before the North London Derby in the 2020/21 season where he made his first appearance in five games and lasted just 45 minutes before sustaining a hip injury that kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year.
Arteta will be keen to avoid a similar fate, so Partey may be held back if he is a doubt, despite the positive update from Addo.
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