Thomas Partey has been ruled out of Arsenal’s trip to Dundalk after undergoing a scan on a thigh injury that he aggravated against Tottenham, according to the Evening Standard.
Partey was rushed back to make a shock start for Arsenal against Spurs in the North London Derby on Sunday after spending a month on the sidelines with a thigh problem that he sustained against Aston Villa in early November.
The 27-year-old started at the New Tottenham Stadium despite coming through just one full training session ahead of the game and the risk backfired after Partey limped off shortly before half-time – just as Spurs broke to make it 2-0 through Harry Kane.
Mikel Arteta said after the game that Partey would be assessed to see how serious the problem was after confirming the midfielder had aggravated the same injury that had kept him out for over four weeks.
The Evening Standard are now reporting that Partey has undergone a scan to determine the full extent of his latest injury and Arsenal are nervously waiting to learn the results.
Arteta could provide more clarity on the situation at his pre-match press conference later today but the newspaper says the former Atletico Madrid star won’t travel to Ireland for Arsenal’s final Europa League group stage game.
The Gunners take on Dundalk on Thursday night knowing they’ve already booked their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League as Group B winners so Arteta is expected to rest his big guns ahead of Sunday’s clash with Burnley.
We’ll have to wait and see what the scan results show but Partey’s latest injury is a major set-back for Arsenal as they desperately need his presence in midfield so Arteta will be praying for positive news.
While the Gunners have made light work of their Europa League group, they’ve endured a nightmare start in the Premier League and sit 15th in the table so it would be a devastating blow if Partey was ruled out over the busy festive period.
There was some positive news for Arteta last night as Gabriel Martinelli made his long-awaited injury comeback with a run out for the U23s so he’s one step closer to returning to first team action.
