Arsenal have taken extra precaution to try and help ensure influential midfielder avoids injury while on international duty with Ghana.
The 29-year-old has been in outstanding form this season and represents an essential cog in Mikel Arteta’s relentless winning machine.
Partey’s Arsenal career has been regularly undermined by fitness issues and his absence against both Manchester clubs earlier this season coincided with two of the Gunners’ three Premier League defeats this term.
The former star also missed the final nine games of last season during which Arsenal ran out of steam and surrendered fourth place to north rivals Tottenham.
With that in mind, Arsenal can ill-afford to be without Partey over the course of the next 10 matches that will determine whether or not they an fend off Manchester City and secure a first Premier League title in 19 years.
Ghana face back-to-back fixtures against Angola in the coming week and in a bid to monitor Partey’s fitness, club physio Simon Murphy has been dispatched to Africa to keep tabs on the all-action midfielder.
Ghana, now managed by former Norwich and Brighton head coach Chris Hughton, is aware of Partey’s importance to Arsenal but is unlikely to be influenced by Murphy’s presence around his squad.
Explaining Partey’s role in his set-up, Hughton said: ‘Partey’s role in the team is as a continuity player, he is not that guy who going to dribble past multiple players. His role is important to what the team does even if he doesn’t always stand out.
‘Sometimes as football fan we assume a player must necessarily fit the frame we have of him in an A team or in a B team. Partey’s roles at both club and country are different from each other, but key.’
after the Japan international right-back underwent knee surgery earlier this week.
‘Following his substitution during last Thursday’s Europa League match, subsequent assessments have confirmed that Takehiro Tomiyasu sustained a significant injury to his right knee,’ read a club statement.
‘Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season.
‘Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season.’
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