Arsenal have revealed that midfielder Thomas Partey is expected to spend three weeks on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
The former Atletico Madrid man was the victim of a crunching tackle from Ruben Loftus-Cheek in last weekend's Mind Series encounter with Chelsea and hobbled off the Emirates pitch in a worrying sight for Mikel Arteta.
Partey missed 17 games during his debut season last term with various injury woes, and the Gunners have now confirmed that the prospects of him playing again this month are slim.
The Gunners' latest injury update on arsenal.com stated: "Thomas sustained an injury to ligaments in his right ankle during the friendly match against Chelsea last Sunday. Thomas continues to be assessed and is expected to be back in training in approximately three weeks."
Partey - who featured 33 times in all competitions for Arsenal last season - is joined in the Gunners' treatment room by Eddie Nketiah (ankle) and Gabriel Magalhaes (knee), with the latter's injury forcing him to withdraw from Brazil's Olympic team.
The Gunners open their Premier League campaign against Brentford next Friday before clashes with Chelsea and Manchester City later in August.
Ben Knapton
