Thomas Partey has returned to training with Arsenal but it remains to be seen if he is fit enough to feature in the second leg of their Europa League round-of-32 clash with Benfica on Thursday.
The game will take place in Athens due to current coronavirus travel restrictions and Partey has been building up his recovery from a hamstring injury in recent days.
Rob Holding (concussion) will not be available as the Gunners look to secure safe passage to the next round having drawn the first leg 1-1.
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The former Atletico Madrid man has played a key role for Mikel Arteta when fit, but Thomas has been consistently hampered by injury lay-offs since arriving at the start of the season.
He has played a total of 16 games this season, just over 1,000 minutes in all competitions - but just one of those appearances have come in the Europa League from Arsenal’s seven fixtures due to injury and rotation.
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Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka have paired up in midfield in the 27-year-old’s absence and they are the likely starters against Benfica once more.
PA
