Thomas Partey is "devastated" about his latest injury setback which looks set to sideline him for up to two weeks.
The Ghanaian international limped off during Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday and initially complained of pain in his thigh area.
Speaking after the game Mikel Arteta revealed that he wasn't sure about the severity of the problem, but admitted the 27-year-old had been in too much pain to continue playing.
Arsenal had initially been optimistic about the midfielder's fitness suggesting he could be back in time to face Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday.
But now football.london understands that Partey is likely to miss both of the Gunners' Europa League ties against Benfica as well as this weekend's match with a hamstring injury.
"Again, it's a difficult one," said Arteta when asked about Partey's potential return date.
"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."
The news is yet another injury setback for Partey who has had a stop-start beginning to his Arsenal career since arriving from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day in October.
The 28-year-old initially sustained a thigh strain against Aston Villa in the Gunners' home game against them back in November which ruled him out for around a month.
He was then rushed back to be fit in time to play in the North London Derby at the start of December only to worsen the original injury and rule himself out for a further six weeks.
"He was devastated," said Arteta.
"We were all devastated because we know the importance of Thomas. We haven't had him since we signed him for 3 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."
"He came here obviously to a different league. Physically much more demanding than the Spanish league and he got injured. He wanted to get back, he got back and got injured again so his rhythm has been in and out.
"He hasn't had a pre-season and probably hasn't had the type of preparation needed for such a change and then his anxiety willing to do so well, to feel important, he's a big signing. All those things add.
"He broke down again, we need to be patient now and he needs to recover properly because it's going to be key for us to have him available towards the end of the season."
