Quantcast
Home   >   News   >   Arteta on ‘devastated’ Arsenal star after injury setback is confirmed + Tierney update

Arteta on ‘devastated’ Arsenal star after injury setback is confirmed + Tierney update

By on February 12, 2021

Thomas partey

Mikel Arteta says Thomas Partey is ‘devastated’ about his latest injury setback plus the Arsenal boss has provided an update on Kieran Tierney’s fitness.

Partey was forced off during the second half of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend after going down holding his thigh. After receiving treatment, he limped off to be replaced by Willian and the club initially hoped it was nothing serious.

However, scans showed the damage was worst than first thought and it was confirmed yesterday that Partey had been ruled out of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Leeds United at the Emirates on Sunday.

Arteta has been speaking to the media at his press conference today and he’s revealed that Partey has been left ‘devastated’ by this latest injury setback but he hasn’t given any indication as to how long the midfielder will be out for.

The Ghanaian international has endured a tough time since arriving from Atletico Madrid as a series of niggling injuries have restricted his playing time so this latest knock will come as another big blow.

The club also confirmed on Arsenal.com yesterday that Tierney has been ruled out of the Leeds game as he continues to work his way back to fitness having missed our last five games in all competitions.

It was initially reported that Tierney has been struggling with a calf injury the past few weeks but Arteta has revealed it’s actually his knee that’s bothering him. The full-back is ‘feeling better’ and will increase his workload in training over the coming days so hopefully he’ll be back in contention soon.

Speaking today, Arteta told Arsenal.com:

on how long Partey will be out for…
It is a difficult one, he felt something during the game and we didn’t think it was too bad but after the scan looked a little bit worse. He won’t be available to play against Leeds and we will see how it evolves in the next two days but it is a muscular issue.

on how frustrating it is for him…
He was devastated, we were all devastated because we know the importance of Thomas and we haven’t had him since we signed him, we haven’t had him in three games consecutively. I think he has only played 90 minutes once since he has come back from injury, so it is a big blow for us but he is adapting to the league, he has been very unlucky as well and he is very frustrated because he is a very competitive guy who wants to feel important and be important for the team and at the moment the injuries are restricting a lot of game time for him.

on Kieran Tierney…
We have to see how the knee reacts when he starts to get a bit more load. He hasn’t had much left but he is very positive at the moment, he is in good spirits and he is desperate to get back in the team and we will see in the next few days, the moment he starts to train with the team and se how he is feeling and how he reacts.

on if Kieran Tierney was expected to be out for this long…
Well, we didn’t know. At the end of the day when you have pain and you are not comfortable and you are someone like Kieran who does everything 100mph you need to be in the right condition. When someone like him says it doesn’t feel right and that something is wrong you worry because you know how much he wants it as well. He’s in a much better place now, in the last few days he’s feeling better, he’s training, he’s positive, he’s willing to come back early and help the team and hopefully we can have him soon.

It sounds like Partey is facing a couple of weeks on the sidelines so he’s in danger of missing some crucial games as Arsenal face Benfica [twice], Manchester City and Leicester City before the end of the month.

Tierney should hopefully be back soon as long as he doesn’t suffer any setback when he steps-up his training. The first leg against Benfica next Thursday might come too soon but hopefully he’s back for the home game against City next weekend.

Arsenal don’t have any other serious injury issues to contend with and Bernd Leno and David Luiz will be back to face Leeds after serving their one-match bans so the squad is in decent shape.