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Thomas Partey has been left out of Ghana’s squad at his own request while he recovers from a serious thigh injury.
The former Atletico Madrid player spent over four months in the medical bay with the problem, which former Black Stars manager Chris Hughton called as the most terrible he had ever experienced in his career.
Partey’s injury necessitated surgery, and he was consequently left out of Ghana’s team for the Africa Cup of Nations, where his country failed to win any of its group-stage games and was eliminated at the first hurdle.
After returning to team training only to suffer another setback, Partey returned to the pitch for Arsenal earlier this month, playing 25 minutes in their 6-0 victory over Sheffield United.
The 30-year-old was subsequently brought in as a late replacement against Brentford five days later, and he was named to the squad for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Porto, but he did not make it off the bench.
Because of his return to domestic service, Partey would have been available for an international call-up this month, when Ghana plays Nigeria and Uganda in a pair of friendlies in Morocco.
However, the midfielder was not named to Otto Addo’s 26-man squad for the upcoming exhibition matches, and Ghana later announced that he had requested to be left out so that he may continue his recovery at Arsenal.
Arsenal’s Partey | Career Stats
Partey has only made seven appearances for Mikel Arteta’s team in the 2023-24 season due to a severe hamstring injury and a previous groin ailment, and he has yet to play a minute in the Champions League with the Gunners.
The ex-Atletico man’s connection with Granit Xhaka was a key component of Arsenal’s title push in 2022-23, but he has also struggled with injuries in North London, where he is only under contract until 2025.
With his physical issues resurfacing, Arsenal are expected to consider offers for the 30-year-old this summer before losing him on a free transfer in 2025, five years after signing from Atletico Madrid.
Partey has five goals and four assists in 106 Premier League games since joining in 2020, but he has missed a another 74 matches for club and country during that period.
In addition to the Ghana midfielder, Japanese right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu has not been called up for international duty since he has yet to play since returning from the Asian Cup with a knock, while Gabriel Martinelli has been omitted from the Brazil squad due to a cut on his foot.
Meanwhile, England manager Gareth Southgate said that Ben White, who has not been called up for the Three Lions since quitting the 2022 World Cup camp for personal reasons, did not want to be considered for selection in March’s international matches.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and Aaron Ramsdale were named to the England squad, while Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz, Jakub Kiwior, Karl Hein, Jorginho, David Raya, Leandro Trossard, and William Saliba were all called up by their respective national sides.
