Mikel Arteta has revealed that Ghanaian midfielder, Thomas Partey has suffered a ‘little setback’ in his return from injury, ruling the midfielder out of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with title rivals Liverpool.
Partey has been sidelined with a thigh problem since October, meaning the 30-year-old has missed Arsenal’s last 20 games in all competitions – including the side’s 1-1 draw at Anfield just before Christmas.
The Ghana international underwent surgery on his thigh after sustaining the injury in the final few moments of a training session prior to the Gunners’ Champions League clash with Sevilla.
Pictures of Partey back in training last week raised some hope that a return to first-team action could be imminent, but a recurrence of the issue has seemingly delayed the former Atletico Madrid man’s recovery.
It comes as a major blow to the north London club, with Arteta’s men heading into a crucial period in the context of this season’s title race, five points adrift of Jurgen Klopp’s league leaders.
Asked for an update on Arsenal’s injury concerns at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Arteta told reporters: Gabi [Gabriel Jesus] obviously played and trained with us the whole week.
‘With Thomas, unfortunately we had a little setback a few days ago so he’s not going to be available to be in the squad. Whether it’s a matter of days or weeks, we will see, but he had a little thing.’
Arteta confirmed that Partey felt discomfort in the same area of his thigh, but was unable to put a timescale on the midfielder’s possible return to the fold.
‘I’m not a doctor but I can try to explain. He felt something again in a very similar area and he wasn’t able to train for the last few days,’ the Arsenal head coach added.
