Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has returned from international duty earlier than expected, with attentions now shifting towards his status for next Saturday's North London Derby at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Injuries and fitness concerns have been a recurring theme for the 29-year-old ever since he joined the Gunners for £45m on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2020 and there were fears he suffered yet another setback after being forced to withdraw from the Ghana starting line-up against Brazil.
"Thomas Partey has been replaced by Baba Idrissu," the official Ghana Twitter account tweeted 10 minutes before kick-off. However, shortly afterward it was confirmed this decision was nothing more than a precautionary measure, although the situation has developed further.
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As confirmed by the Ghana Football Association on Saturday, Partey has been allowed to return to Arsenal for further assessment on his knee after it was decided that he would play no part in the Black Stars' final game of the international break against Nicaragua on Tuesday.
"Thomas Partey has been granted permission to travel back to London for further assessment after picking up a suspected knee injury on Friday minutes before the international friendly against Brazil," the statement reads. "The 29-year-old was set to start for the Black Stars but just a few minutes before kick-off, was forced to withdraw after picking up a knock."
Whilst this is certainly not the ideal scenario for Arsenal not only ahead of facing Spurs next weekend but with games in October against the likes of Liverpool, Leeds United, PSV Eindhoven and Southampton in mind, manager Mikel Arteta has already shown how he will deal with Partey's fitness.
Ironically, the Spaniard found himself in a similar situation before a North London Derby in the 2020/21 season where his gamble backfired in spectacular fashion as Partey - making his first appearance in five games - lasted just 45 minutes before sustaining a hip injury that kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year.
But to Arteta's credit, he learned from that mistake as he opted against rushing the midfielder back after two further injury layoffs during the second half of the aforementioned campaign and continued with this cautious approach throughout last season.
This was evident more so going into the final game against Everton as Partey had returned to full training in the week leading up to the fixture after missing eight in a row with a thigh injury, but was left out of the squad - perhaps mainly because the Gunners had little to play for that afternoon.
Already this season, Arteta has taken no chances with the midfielder's fitness. At the first sight of a recurrence of a thigh problem, the Spaniard left him out of the side for the visit of Fulham and it was only after a full week's training that he welcomed the Arsenal no.5 back into the fold against Brentford after four games on the sidelines.
Even though everything currently indicates that Partey's latest setback isn't too serious and his return to Arsenal will ensure he can be wrapped up in cotton wool ahead of the Spurs game. Yet it's worth keeping in mind that Arteta has a history of not rushing his star midfielder back if he's not at 100 per cent.
With that in mind, what the next few days could look like for Partey is getting the all-clear on a suspected knee injury and then proving to his manager in training that he is ready to take his place in the starting line-up for the huge North London Derby.
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