ARSENAL have received a boost this month with the news Thomas Partey will NOT join up with Ghana at the African Cup of Nations.
The Gunners midfielder has been out since October following surgery on a thigh injury – one that Ghana boss Chris Hughton has described as “substantial”.
There were hopes Partey, 30, would be back this week to be involved in Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash with Liverpool – in time to join up with his Ghana team-mates at AFCON ahead of their opening group game against Cape Verde on January 14.
However, the decision has been made between the Arsenal medical team and Black Stars head coach Hughton not to risk Partey out in the tournament’s host country Ivory Coast as he continues recovering from the “biggest injury” of his career.
In a press conference announcing his 27-man squad, Hughton explained: “Thomas Partey for sure, and I say this not in a detrimental way to the squad that we have, but he is one of our most important players.
“This we know and, withstanding his injury, he certainly would be in the squad. We know the quality of player that he is. This is a player that has a substantial injury.
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“I’ve spent a lot over this period of time with Thomas and also engaging with the medical staff at Arsenal Football Club.
“They will treat this injury with caution, and so will the player. This is a big injury for him and the biggest injury that he’s had.
“The most important thing for me as head coach and our association is to give him the support that he needs through this period of time.
“From all the information that we’ve been given, the timelines of his recovery and the caution that will be taken, will not meet our timelines for the AFCON.”
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Partey has recently returned to light training and was due to be in contention to make the squad to face Jurgen Klopp’s Reds at the Emirates this weekend.
It would be his first appearance in all competitions in an Arsenal shirt since October 8 – the 1-0 victory over Manchester City.
He will then have further time to recover and get up to speed with Arsenal’s next clash not until January 20 when they take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Arsenal have also welcomed back Takehiro Tomiyasu from a calf injury, but Fabio Vieira (groin) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) remain out.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
