Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta refused to rule Thomas Partey out of the North London derby, with the midfielder set to undergo further scans to assess his fitness this week.
Partey, signed for £45m from Atletico Madrid on deadline day, made an immediate impression before suffering a thigh injury during Arsenal’s woeful 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa.
He has not featured since and Arteta has been reluctant to put a date on the Ghanaian’s return, with Partey currently training separately from the first-team squad.
“He has been training separately in the last week or so,” said Arteta. “At the same time, we have to protect and make sure that when he gets back in the team he is ready to do that and whatever extent of minutes we can use him.
“So this week is going to be crucial. The moment he starts to train in parts with the team, [we can] see how he is feeling and how he is evolving day to day.”
Pushed specifically on whether Partey could return in time to face Tottenham on Sunday, Arteta replied: “We don’t know.
“Again he is really pushing. Every day he is trying to get around the doctor and the physios. He hasn’t trained with the team yet.
“So this week, let’s see if he can get a session or two. We need to scan him again to see the extent of the injury and how it has healed. I know if it is Thomas, he wants to play tomorrow. Then we have to see medically that he is safe to participate this week at all.”
