Ghana manager Chris Houghton has calmed fears of another injury to Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey.
Partey missed six games with a groin injury before returning for the final 15 minutes of Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Manchester City before the international break.
He jetted off with Ghana and started the friendly defeat to Mexico at the weekend, but fans were concerned to see Partey substituted at half-time.
Asked whether Partey had aggravated his groin issue, Houghton stressed that the plan was always to give the midfielder 45 minutes of action to help ease him back into competitive action.
“Thomas was always only going to play 45 minutes,” Houghton said.
“He has been out injured for three to four weeks, he came back for Arsenal last midweek, was on the subs bench for one game and played 20 minutes for the next game. So we knew he was only going to play 45 minutes.”
Partey is therefore expected to be available for Arsenal when they face Chelsea on October 21, but Mikel Arteta will have a decision to make over where to deploy the Ghana international.
Declan Rice’s arrival during the summer saw Partey lose his preferred midfield position and Arteta opted to turn him into a right-back for the first three games of the campaign before he picked up his groin injury.
With Partey sidelined, Ben White has returned to the right-back role in which he excelled last season, allowing Gabriel Magalhaes to resume his partnership with first-choice defender William Saliba.
Saliba has been nursing a toe injury but is not expected to need a significant period on the sidelines.
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