Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says Thomas Partey was keen to join Ghana's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations despite not fully recovering from his injury.

The Arsenal midfielder is part of a star-studded group of players who miss the continent's flagship tournament due to injury.

Partey has not played since returning from the October international break where he featured for the Black Stars in the games against Mexico and the United States of America.

According to Arteta, it would have been unwise to have allowed the player to leave for the tournament knowing the situation at hand.

"It was about common sense. He has a long-term injury and he really wanted to push his rehab," Arteta said.

"He really wanted to be with the national team but he is still far from training with the team and it didn’t make a lot of sense for him to be involved."

Ghana are housed in Group B for the tournament and will face competition from Cape Verde, Egypt and Mozambique.

Chris Hughton's side are currently camping in Kumasi ahead of the commencement of the tournament to be staged in Ivory Coast.