Arsenal's Thomas Partey left out of Ghana's AFCON squad
The 30-year-old has only made five appearances for the Gunners during an injury-plagued 2023-24 campaign, most recently coming on as a substitute in October's 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Partey — who missed all of September with a groin injury — was also on the bench for Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Chelsea later that month, but he re-entered the infirmary with a thigh problem before the Gunners' 2-1 Champions League win over Sevilla on October 24.
The former Atletico Madrid man's problem was serious enough to require an operation, which ended his chances of playing for Arsenal again in 2023, and Mikel Arteta revealed on December 22 that he was yet to rejoin team training.
As a result, Partey was absent from Sunday's 2-1 Premier League loss to Fulham, although there was hope that he would have proven his fitness for the AFCON, which takes place from January 13 to February 11.
However, Partey has not made the cut for the upcoming continental championships, with Hughton — who labelled the Arsenal man one of his nation's most important players — explaining that he is still on the mend from the «biggest injury» of his career.
«Thomas Partey for sure, and I say this not in a detrimental way to the squad that we have, but he is one of our most important players,» Hughton told a press conference after naming his squad.
«This we know and, withstanding his injury, he certainly would be in the squad. We know the quality of player that he is. This is a player that has a substantial injury.
»I've spent a lot over this period of time with Thomas and also engaging with the medical staff at Arsenal
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