Arsenal physio 'spotted' with Partey on international duty just weeks after muscular injury

An Arsenal physio appears to have been 'spotted' alongside Gunners star Thomas Partey when the midfielder arrived for international duty with Ghana.

The midfielder, who captained the Black Stars at the World Cup in Qatar, has been named in the nation's latest squad by manager Chris Hughton.

He has had injury problems in recent months, including a muscle injury, but has proven his fitness in recent weeks by starting each of Arsenal's last three Premier League fixtures.

Mikel Arteta's side have, however, attempted to mitigate the chances of Partey suffering another setback ahead of the Premier League run-in.

They appear to have sent a physio to travel with the midfielder to his national team training base in Kumasi, Ghana for the upcoming fixtures.

Arsenal physio 'spotted' with Partey

A video posted by the official Twitter account of the Ghana national team - which can be seen below - shows Partey arriving at the training base, alongside a member of the Arsenal medical team.

According to GhanaWeb, the member of medical personnel in question is Arsenal's lead performance physiotherapist, Simon Murphy.

Partey has been one of the Gunners' key players in midfield throughout this campaign, although did switch to right-back during the 1-1 draw against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League earlier this month. The right-back in Arteta's system regularly shifts infield to form a back three during attacking moves.

Hughton's side take on Angola in two friendlies during the upcoming international period, and it remains to be seen how much of a part the Gunners star will play in the games as one of the more experienced players in the squad.

Speaking to the media after his appointment, former Newcastle and Brighton boss Hughton said of his ambitions with the national team (quotes via Ghanasoccernet): "At this moment, always the most important is short term. Winning football matches will get you into a better position to when the other games come around. The medium term of course is making sure that you qualify and do well in the competitions itself.

"The longer term, of course, is about developing players and bringing players through the system, and that takes time. There's no doubt, as a team that played in the World Cup with the youngest team, we have to have an eye on development."