Yet another international break is underway, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will surely be keeping his fingers crossed.
The Gunners have had a good start to the new season. They are unbeaten so far and the only two times they have dropped points is when they were reduced to 10 men.
Arteta will be happy with that, but the one thing that has surely annoyed him is injury issues affecting several players in his side.
Arsenal lost Martin Odegaard in the last international break, while Riccardo Calafiori also returned with a minor injury. Oleksandr Zinchenko has been out as well.
Now, another Arsenal star has ‘medical issues’ that’s set to keep him out of his country’s games in this international break.
Arsenal star Thomas Partey pulls out of Ghana squad
A second international break after just seven Premier League games this season just feels so unnecessary.
This doesn’t just ruin the momentum clubs are trying to build but also increases the fatigue level among players, which in turn increases the risk of injuries.
Kai Havertz has pulled out of the Germany squad due to a knee injury he suffered during the win against Southampton on Saturday.
It has been revealed that Havertz’s injury is not serious, but it’s significant enough to keep him out of his country’s upcoming games.
Now, Ghana’s FA have revealed that Thomas Partey has pulled out of the national team for their two games against Sudan.
It has been claimed that the midfielder is “unable to join the Black Stars due to medical issues he is currently experiencing, and his club has scheduled him for further tests in the coming days”.
Charles Watts has revealed that Partey’s absence is not due to an injury, he is actually suffering from an illness. The decision to keep him at Arsenal during this break has been described as ‘purely precaution’.
How many Arsenal players will be away on international duty in October?
Arteta will be glad that Havertz and Partey will be staying at home over the next two weeks, but 10 Arsenal players will be away on international duty.
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have joined the England squad for the game against Greece and Finland. Mikel Merino and David Raya are in the Spain squad for the fixtures against Denmark and Serbia.
William Saliba and Riccardo Calafiori have been called up by France and Italy respectively, and both players will face Israel and Belgium in this international break. They could come up against Leandro Trossard, who is in the Belgium squad.
Jakub Kiwior has also joined up with the Poland squad for their Nations League games against Portugal and Croatia.
The other two Arsenal stars away on international duty are Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli for Brazil’s games against Chile and Peru.
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