Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has confirmed that "late decisions" will have to be made on the involvement of Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes for Tuesday's Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners head to the City Ground with the chance to cut the gap to leaders Liverpool down to just two points, and they need only draw with Nuno Espirito Santo's side to temporarily rise into second place in the table.
After a dissatisfactory run of just one win from seven games before jetting off to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp, the Gunners returned to the Emirates with a bang on January 20, decimating London rivals Crystal Palace 5-0.
However, the afternoon was not an entirely perfect one for Arteta and co, as influential midfielder Rice and key defender Gabriel - who scored the opening two goals in the derby - both sustained injuries.
Rice signalled that he had damaged his hamstring before trudging off the field, while Gabriel suffered a blow to the ankle, although Arteta played down their substitutions as precautionary after the game.
© Reuters
Nevertheless, Arteta could not guarantee either man's availability when pressed in Monday's pre-game press conference, saying of Rice: "He's done some work but has missed some work as well. Hopefully he's going to be okay.
"We've got some late decisions to make. We have a few that had some issues at the end of the last game and we're still uncertain with a few players. He is one of the players, yes."
When asked if Gabriel was also on Arsenal's list of doubts, Arteta replied "That's another one, yes" before going on to confirm that the clash with the Tricky Trees would come too soon for the injury-plagued Thomas Partey.
The 30-year-old has not been seen in a Gunners shirt since October due to a serious thigh problem, which then-Ghana boss Chris Hughton described as the most serious of his career after leaving him out of his Africa Cup of Nations squad.
Partey returned to full training with Arsenal last week, though, fuelling hopes that he could make his long-awaited comeback at the City Ground, but Arteta has conceded that the ex-Atletico Madrid man still needs to build up his fitness levels.
© Reuters
"Thomas is not in the squad, no. It's what it is. You want everybody available and he's a top player for us, really important player for us, but at the moment he's not fit yet," Arteta added.
When questioned on the possibility of Partey returning for the home clash with Liverpool on February 4, Arteta was loath to commit one way or the other, adding: "We will see. We will see how it evolves and if that's too short or that's okay."
As well as Partey, Jurrien Timber (ACL) and Fabio Vieira (groin) are still out for Arsenal, while Egypt's Mohamed Elneny and Japan's Takehiro Tomiyasu remain unavailable due to international commitments.
Arteta was also quizzed on rumours that he could step down from his position as Arsenal boss over the summer, as he is allegedly being eyed up by Barcelona as a successor to the departing Xavi, but the 41-year-old slammed those reports from the Spanish media as "fake news".
Ben Knapton
