Arsenal have received a significant injury boost ahead of their Premier League clash with Leeds United on Saturday, with Thomas Partey taking part in team training on Thursday morning.
The former Atletico Madrid man has been bedevilled by numerous fitness issues since touching down in North London, and he picked up a fresh concern with Ghana during the international break.
Partey's nation faced a double-header with Angola in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, and he played the full 90 in the first game before being benched for a 1-1 draw four days later.
Black Stars manager Chris Hughton subsequently revealed that Partey had been carrying a small injury, and they decided to err on the side of caution given his previous struggles.
"Thomas has some small issues, a small injury issue and we felt it was too big of a risk to start him," Hughton told the press after Partey was left in the dugout on Monday.
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Nevertheless, the 29-year-old was not believed to have sustained anything serious, and he was seen in full training with the Gunners on Thursday as they prepare for the return of domestic duties.
Having largely consigned his injury problems to history, Partey has enjoyed his finest season in red and white since arriving in 2020, starting 21 Premier League games and scoring three goals.
The Ghana international now has five goals and four assists to show from 89 games under Mikel Arteta, who still has a number of other injury concerns to factor in for the visit of the Whites.
Mohamed Elneny remains out for the season following knee surgery, and the luckless Takehiro Tomiyasu will also not play again this term, having gone under the knife for a similarly serious problem sustained against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League.
Tomiyasu was one of two casualties in that second-leg penalty-shootout defeat, as William Saliba sustained a back problem and was ruled out France's Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Thomas Partey takes part in training ahead of Arsenal's game against Leeds on Saturday but William Saliba misses the session 🔴pic.twitter.com/24ypft0wf0
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 30, 2023
The severity of Saliba's problem is still unclear, but he was not pictured with the team at London Colney, so Rob Holding should be in line for a second successive Premier League start.
Elsewhere, Kieran Tierney was able to take part in full training after coming off with a calf concern in Scotland's win over Spain, but there was no sign of Eddie Nketiah.
The striker is still nursing a troublesome ankle problem, and it may be another couple of weeks before he is considered for a return to first-team action.
Meanwhile, Leeds manager Javi Gracia has already confirmed that Wilfried Gnonto and Maximilian Wober are not available for Saturday's game, while Tyler Adams is out for the long-term due to hamstring surgery.
Arsenal welcome Leeds to the Emirates eight points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, but the Citizens have a game in hand and can reduce that gap to five with victory over Liverpool a couple of hours before Arteta's side kick off on Saturday.
Ben Knapton
