Thomas Partey is moving closer to a return, having been out of action since the blockbuster clash with Manchester City in October. It looks like the Ghanian midfielder will make his comeback in another blockbuster clash, with the Gunners hosting Liverpool on Sunday.
Partey is back in full training, having fully recovered from the thigh muscle injury that has kept him out since the fall. While he did not make the matchday squad for the win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, Partey should be involved, at least in some capacity against the Reds this weekend.
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Thomas is not in the squad,” manager Mikel Arteta said earlier this week.
“It is what it is. You want everybody available and he is a top player for us, a really important player for us. But at the moment he is not fit yet.”
Arteta was then asked if Partey could return this weekend, and he answered: “We will see. We will see how things evolve and if thatโs too short or if heโs okay.”
Elsewhere striker Gabriel Jesus should be fit enough, having overcome yet another knee issue.
“I don’t know [if heโll be fit],” Arteta said after the win over Forest.
“He got hit big time in the last game. His knee reacted and itโs the knee he had [surgery on] before. He was super positive, heโs feeling good and he was so sharp in training. I’m not surprised with the way he played tonight.”
Meanwhile Fabio Vieira remains out with a groin problem, but Jurrien Timber may actually play again this season. He is back doing light training and running outdoors again.
“There is a possibility [he plays again this season, but at the moment heโs still very far from competing,” Arteta stated during the last time that he spoke of this situation.
โThatโs the realistic picture of it. Are we hopeful that he could have a realistic impact before the end of the season? If everything goes well, it looks like that might happen. At the moment though itโs too early to make that call.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News,ย Sports Illustratedย andย theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for theย International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the websiteย onย Twitter.
