Thomas Partey is likely to miss the rest of the season following the injury he sustained in Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this month. Partey was withdrawn at Selhurst Park with a thigh injury. There was hope that he'd be able to return after a period away on the sideline, but manager Mikel Arteta has now suggested that he may well miss the rest of the season.
"The news that we got after having another assessment is not great," Arteta said in his pre-match press conference for this weekend's clash with Southampton. "It’s not looking very positive for his availability this season, but we’ll have to wait and see. He’s trying to get back as quick as possible but at the moment we are not very optimistic about it."
The Spaniard continued by stating that Arsenal need to remain focused on their objective of trying to finish in the final Champions League spot. "Yes it’s not ideal," he added. "We knew in this moment of the season one the key things was going to be to have the players available as much as possible and we have a few issues, with him and as well with Tomiyasu. We need to continue to compete and hopefully in the best possible way."
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The news is awful timing for the Gunners. After losing Kieran Tierney to a season ending injury no more than a fortnight ago, they now find themselves potentially without another one of their key players for their remaining games. To add to that frustration, Takehiro Tomiyasu is also yet to return from his long-term issue - although he's expected to re-join full-team training after this weekend.
Arsenal have slipped to fifth in the table following back-to-back to losses to Palace and Brighton. They need to beat Southampton tomorrow (Saturday) in order to regain a foothold in the race for top four, but unfortunately, they'll have to do so without the calming presence of their midfield star.
