Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was injured against Chelsea in pre-season
rsenal will be boosted by the returns of Thomas Partey, Ben White and Gabriel for Saturday’s key clash with Norwich.
Influential midfielder Partey has yet to play this term due to an ankle ligament injury suffered during pre-season against Chelsea, while £50million arrival White only featured in the opening night loss at Brentford before being ruled out following a positive Covid-19 test.
Fellow centre-back Gabriel, meanwhile, is bidding to make his first appearance of 2021/22 in the aftermath of a knee injury sustained with Brazil at the Olympics.
All three players are now back in full training at London Colney and available to play when Arsenal desperately try to lift themselves off the foot of the Premier League table with an important fixture against another winless team in north London this weekend.
However, midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga may need to be assessed after not playing for Belgium in World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic or Belarus having initially come on as a second-half substitute in the 5-2 win over Estonia last week.
“Regarding Sambi, his omission was not a sporting choice,” said Belgium coach Roberto Martinez.
“There was a small warning, I would not speak of injury, but of discomfort, in training.
“So we decided not to take any risk given the complicated conditions. It was not a sporadic decision on my part.”
Mohamed Elneny faces two to three weeks out with a hamstring strain, but Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is fit after an ankle injury.
There was no update on Emile Smith Rowe, who withdrew from England Under-21 duty this week after feeling unwell.
Granit Xhaka is suspended for the visit of Daniel Farke’s newly-promoted Norwich after his red card in the 5-0 defeat at Manchester City before the international break.
He also tested positive for Covid while on international duty with Switzerland.
Sign up for exclusive newsletters, comment on stories, enter competitions and attend events.
By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.