Ghana FA's hopes of securing a late release for superstar midfielder Thomas Partey for the crucial 2022 World Cup qualifier against South Africa on Sunday has failed after English side Arsenal ruled that the player has no fully recovered from his groin problems, Ghanasoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.
The GFA was hoping to convince the London-based club to release the Black Stars deputy captain on Saturday for the match in Cape Coast a day later to boost their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs of the qualifiers.
GFA and Arsenal had been communicating since Tuesday after it emerged that Partey's groin injury was improving and the player was keen to travel to serve his country in the crucial match.
Initially, GFA agreed not have Partey for the Ethiopia match but asked Arsenal to allow Partey to travel to Ghana for assessment and if possible, he would play against Bafana Bafana.
However, the Premier League club told the GFA on Saturday that Partey won't join the Black Stars camp because he is not fully fit and it’s best he stays in London and continues receiving treatment.
Ghanasoccernet.com understands that Partey had shown great determination to recover and play a part in the must-win game for the Black Stars.
Notwithstanding the decision by Arsenal has been accepted in good faith by the GFA. They understand that Partey could aggravate the injury if rushed into action.
His absence is a huge blow for the Black Stars who desperately need to beat South Africa to progress to the next round after failing to pick maximum points against Ethiopia in their last game.
Andre Ayew scored a brilliant free-kick but a poor second-half performance saw the Black Stars drop two points as they drew 1-1 with the East Africans at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.
Black Stars badly missed the presence of Partey with the Ethiopians completely bossing the midfield. Milovan Rajevac’s side were lucky not to lose because Ethiopia hit the crossbar and forced goalkeeper Jojo Wollacot into making a number of important saves.
Partey has been struggling with injuries since his 50 million euros move to Arsenal in the summer of 2020. Prior to the commencement of the season, he got injured and that saw him miss Ghana’s first two games in the qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.
Ghana failed to impress in those games, collecting three points from six. Partey recovered and returned to the team for the double-header against Zimbabwe and he scored in both home and away matches as Black Stars revived their qualification hopes.
Ghana are three points behind South Africa heading into the last matchday but the Black Stars will qualify with any kind of victory at the Cape Coast Stadium on Sunday evening.