For the second time this season, Mikel Arteta will be without Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey against Leeds United.
The 27-year-old limped off during the Gunners' 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend, but initially, there was optimism about the midfielder's fitness suggesting he could be back in time to face Leeds.
However, football.london understands that Partey will not only miss Sunday's game at the Emirates Stadium, but he is likely to be unavailable for both Europa League ties against Benfica.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was quizzed about a potential return date for his £45m signing during his pre-match press conference and could not provide a definitive answer.
"Again, it's a difficult one," said Arteta. "He felt something during the game and we didn't think it was too bad but after the scan it looked a little bit worse.
"He won't be available to play against Leeds and we will see how it evolves in the next few days but it's a muscular issue.
"He was devastated. We were all devastated because we know the importance of Thomas. We haven't had him since we signed him for three consecutive games. It's a big blow for us but he's adapting to the league.
"He's been very unlucky and he's been very frustrated because he's a really competitive guy who wants to feel important and be important for the team.
"At the moment the injuries are restricting a lot of game time for him."
As mentioned above, not being able to call upon Partey against Leeds is not a new problem for Arteta as this was the case in the reverse fixture at Elland Road earlier in the season.
Of course, the obvious candidates to replace the Ghana international are Dani Ceballos and Mohamed Elneny.
And it seems Arteta has already hinted at who will get the nod.
Judging by the Spaniard's team selection against Leeds back in November, it's possible that he thinks Ceballos is better suited to dealing with Marcelo Bielsa's pressing machine.
Interestingly, Mohamed Elneny didn't even make the matchday squad for the trip to Yorkshire and hasn't started a Premier League match since the 1-0 win over Brighton on December 29.
