Thomas Partey has officially been omitted from the Ghana squad. Chris Hughton weighed up the severity of his operation, the reality that he has no form to speak of, and the worry that rehabbing him during an international comp might break the player and ruin his chances of winning a trophy.
This is the most unexpected smart decision of 2024 so far, no doubt.
So there are some layers to this:

If something new happened with his recovery, then this is not good news for us. My understanding was Arsenal were working to get him fit for AFCON. So the fact he’s not going is a surprise because that hasn’t been the plan
If it’s just a case of caution and Partey is on a similar schedule to before, then he could be ready for Palace or at the latest, Forest.
Whatever the scenario, having him rehabbing with Arsenal is massive. Great pitches, brilliant facilities, the best minds in the world working with him, and no chance he’ll be sneaking out to nightclubs with his international teammates.
I have said this before: There is no better midfielder in the world to bring into this side than a fit Thomas Partey.
The internet has been a very downbeat place since the Fulham loss. Fans don’t seem to be able to process pain these days, so every dip is catastrophic.
This post from Bhavs summed it up.

Look into the underlying stats of Arsenal’s 5 game blip & you’ll be surprised.
Expected points: 9.75 (highest itl)

Expected goals for: 9.79 (4th highe...