Injury update issued on Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey following scare on international duty

An injury update has been issued regarding the status of Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, who is currently on international duty with Ghana over the course of the break from club football.

He has not been playing full games for Ghana - instead, he will be fielded for a maximum of 45 minutes during their upcoming friendly against the USA on Wednesday afternoon. In Ghana’s game against Mexico on Sunday, he was brought off at half-time. Partey made his first appearance for the Black Stars back in 2016. Since then, he has gone on to win 45 caps for them, scoring 13 goals along the way.

Partey is not Arsenal’s only injury doubt for the weekend. Jurrien Timber is still out of action with his knee injury - additionally, both Leandro Trossard and William Saliba have withdrawn from their respective international setups.

What has been said regarding Thomas Partey’s condition?

Speaking in a recent press conference, Ghana manager Chris Hughton said: “Thomas [Partey] was always only going to play 45 minutes. He has been out injured for three to four weeks, he came back for Arsenal last midweek, was on the subs bench for one game [and] played 20 minutes for the next game. So we knew he was only going to play 45 minutes.”

Will Thomas Partey be fit to play against Chelsea on Saturday?

It seems likely. Partey suffered a groin injury back in September that kept him off the field for several weeks, but he made his return to the matchday squad with an appearance from the bench during the Gunners’ 1-0 home victory over reigning champions Manchester City.

By playing him cautiously while on international duty, Ghana and Hughton will have most probably helped him along his road to a full recovery. They have used him sparingly and sensibly, as opposed to running him into the ground for their own benefit.

While he may not start in the game against the Blues on Saturday afternoon, it appears to be very probable that Partey will be fully fit and available for selection.