Chris Hughton explains why Thomas Partey is out of the AFCON squad

Head Coach for the Black Stars of Ghana, Chris Hughton has given an explanation to the omission of vice captain, Thomas Partey for the AFCON 2023 tournament.

Partey has not featured in a game for his club side Arsenal since October though he is gradually recovering from his injury. Since Ghana’s 4-0 loss to the United States of America in a friendly, he has not been named in Ghana’s squad thus missing the two World Cup qualifying games played in November.

Speaking after the squad announcement, Hughton revealed that though the Arsenal man is recovering from injury the timeline for his full recovery will not make him available for Africa’s prestigious tournament in Ivory Coast.

“Thomas Partey is one of our most important players. Without his injury, he certainly would be in the squad, we know the quality of player that he is. This is a player that suffered a substantial injury,” He said.

”I’ve spent a lot of this period of time with Thomas and also engaged the medical staff at Arsenal. They will treat this injury with caution, and so will the player. This is a big injury for him, the biggest injury he’s had.

“The most important thing for me as head coach is to give him the support he needs during this period of time. From all the information we’ve been given, the timelines of his recovery and the caution that will be taken, [his recovery] will not meet our timelines for the AFCON.”

The team will now rely on Baba Iddrisu, Abdul Samed, Majeed Ashimeru, Richmond Lamptey and Elisha Owusu to boss the midfield during the touranment. Ghana will play their first game in the AFCON against Cape Verde on 14th January 2024.