Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been omitted from the Ghana squad at his own request as he builds his fitness back up following a severe thigh injury.
The former Atletico Madrid man spent over four months in the medical bay with the issue, which was described by former Black Stars boss Chris Hughton as the most severe he had ever suffered in his career.
Partey's injury required surgery to correct, and he was subsequently left out of the Ghana squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, where his nation failed to win any of their group-stage games and bowed out at the first hurdle.
Having then returned to team training only to suffer another complication, Partey finally took to the field again in Arsenal colours earlier this month, playing 25 minutes of their 6-0 win over Sheffield United.
The 30-year-old was then brought on as a late substitute against Brentford five days later and was included in the squad for their Champions League last-16 second leg with Porto, although he failed to make it off the bench in that encounter.
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Owing to his return to domestic duty, Partey would have been eligible for an international call-up this month, as Ghana take on Nigeria and Uganda in a pair of friendlies in Morocco.
However, the midfielder was not named in Otto Addo's 26-man squad for the upcoming exhibition fixtures, and Ghana subsequently confirmed that he had asked to be left out in order to continue his recuperation with Arsenal.
Due to his severe hamstring issue and a previous groin concern, Partey has only made seven appearances for Mikel Arteta's side in the 2023-24 campaign and is yet to play a single minute in the Champions League for the Gunners.
The ex-Atletico man's partnership with Granit Xhaka was a cornerstone of Arsenal's title push in 2022-23, but he has otherwise struggled with numerous injuries in North London, where he is only under contract until 2025.
With his fitness problems now bedevilling him once more, Arsenal are expected to entertain offers for the 30-year-old this summer before losing him on a free in 2025, five years after his arrival from Atletico Madrid.
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Partey has come up with five goals and four assists in 106 matches for the Premier League leaders since joining in 2020, but he has missed a further 74 matches for club and country in that time.
As well as the Ghana midfielder, Japanese right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu has not been summoned for international duty either, as he is yet to play since coming back from the Asian Cup with a knock, while Gabriel Martinelli dropped out of the Brazil squad with a cut to his foot.
Meanwhile, England boss Gareth Southgate revealed that Ben White - who has not been called up for the Three Lions since leaving the 2022 World Cup camp for personal reasons - did not want to be considered for selection for March's internationals.
However, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale were included in the England squad, while Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz, Jakub Kiwior, Karl Hein, Jorginho, David Raya, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba were all called up by their national teams too.
Ben Knapton
