Arsenal may have concerns over Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu ahead of their clash with Tottenham next weekend.
The high-flying Gunners return to action after the international break with a huge Premier League showdown against their fierce rivals in a high-profile north London derby at Emirates Stadium on October 1.
Arsenal already have concerns over captain Martin Odegaard and versatile summer signing Oleksandr Zinchenko for that lunchtime fixture, while the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Mohamed Elneny, Cedric Soares and Reiss Nelson are also nursing injuries.
Partey recently recovered from a thigh injury to make his return after a month out in the 3-0 win at Brentford, their sixth victory in seven matches that left Mikel Arteta’s in-form side a point clear of both defending champions Manchester City and Spurs at the top-flight summit.
The influential midfielder subsequently went away on international duty and was set to feature for Ghana in their friendly match against Brazil on Friday night, only to become a late withdrawal from Otto Addo’s squad for a 3-0 defeat in Le Havre that included a brace from Tottenham forward Richarlison.
That has understandably prompted fresh injury concerns, although Ghanaian journalist George Addo Jnr has since reported that the omission was purely precautionary, with the player feeling discomfort around his knee and being advised to withdraw from the match.
The Black Stars are said to be hopeful that Partey will play in their second friendly against Nicaragua in Lorca, Spain on Tuesday night - Ghana’s last match before they name their squad for the inaugural winter World Cup in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Partey’s Arsenal team-mate Tomiyasu is returning to London Colney early after international duty.
The defender started and played 90 minutes for Japan in their 2-0 friendly victory over the United States in Dusseldorf, a match which Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic missed after sustaining an injury in training.
Hajime Moriyasu’s men have another game against Ecuador in Germany on Tuesday, but Tomiyasu won’t play and has now gone back to Arsenal due to what was listed as “club circumstances”.
