Medical expert fear Thomas Partey might miss start of preseason

An injury expert claims Black Stars midfielder Thomas Partey might miss the start of Arsenal’s preseason if experiences another setback in his comeback from injury.

That is the opinion of injury specialist Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries website and who has a medical and data analytic background.

The 28-year-old has not played since being forced off with a thigh injury in last month’s 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on 4 April.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta confirmed on April 29th that the Ghanaian midfielder is unlikely to return this season.

Dinnery says the coach is correct to be cautious because a major setback may damage Partey’s pre-season plans.

Ghana is also monitoring Partey’s injury situation because the Black Stars of Ghana will soon start their Afcon 2023 qualifiers.

“It’s always good to have targets and goals,” Dinnery said.

“They will hope they don’t need him to get them over the line with Champions League qualification. It’s about managing the situation well,”

“If you rush him back, that could follow through to pre-season and then ultimately next season. It’s all about risk and reward,” he added.

“Given that he has suffered this type of injury before, this is a significant setback. We are looking at several weeks on the sidelines,”

“If he was to suffer a recurrence of the injury, that would extend the timeline,”

“Given that it is a World Cup year which has pushed pre-season forward, he could conceivably miss pre-season if he’s rushed back and suffers a setback.” he ended.