Mikel Arteta has provided an update on the fitness of Thomas Partey ahead of the North London Derby with Tottenham on Sunday.
The Ghanaian midfielder has been absent since going off at half time in the 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the start of this month.
It was initially expected that he would be out for a short period, but speaking after the Gunners' loss to Wolves on Sunday Arteta revealed he could be out for longer than expected.
"I don't think he will be with us in the next few games," said the Arsenal manager.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal's game with Rapid Vienna though, the Arsenal manager seemed less certain that the 28-year-old would miss the game against Spurs.
"We don’t know again he’s really pushing every day he’s trying to get around the doctors and the physio he hasn’t trained with the team yet" he said when asked if Partey could be available.
"So let's see this week if he can get a session or two, assess him and scan him again to see the extent of the injury and how it's healed."
"I know if it's Thomas he wants to play tomorrow and then we have to see medically that he's safe to run or participate this week at all."
Arteta was, however, keen to emphasise that he did not want to damage the fitness of his summer signing any further by rushing him back into the first team.
"He's been been training separately in the last week or so we have to scan him again to see how he’s feeling. He’s a player that’s so willing that he's pushing us every day because he wants to do it.
"At the same time we have to protect and make sure that when he gets back into the team he's ready to do that to whatever extent that we can use him.
"So This week is going to be crucial, the moment he's going to start to train with the team to see how he's feeling and how he's evolving day to day."
A win against their local rivals on Sunday could potentially be a way to kickstart the season for the Gunners, who have their worst ever Premier League points tally after 10 games.
