Ghana begin their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Cape Verde on Sunday, January 14, with the Black Stars chasing their fifth continental title and a first since 1982.<\/p>\n
Their form under current boss Chris Hughton has been indifferent, despite the presence of talents such as Mohammed Kudus, Inaki Williams and the experienced Ayew brothers.<\/p>\n
Things would be much more straightforward for Hughton if he could select Thomas Partey as a midfield foil for the lavishly gifted Kudus, who has enjoyed strong form for West Ham in the Premier League this season and will likely be a key part of Ghana’s efforts in the Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n
But Arsenal’s former Atletico Madrid star has barely been seen over recent months, with his fitness issues being felt by Mikel Arteta as the Gunners’ Premier League title challenge falters.<\/p>\n
He will not play any part at the AFCON in 2024 as Ghana attempt to match Cameroon on five continental titles.<\/p>\n
MORE:\u00a0AFCON 2023 Golden Boot: Top goalscorers at Africa Cup of Nations in 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n Since joining Arsenal in October 2020, Partey has missed the equivalent of more than an entire Premier League season, with nine separate injury complaints taking out a total of 42 games.<\/p>\n Only five of these were last season as the Gunners pushed Manchester City close for glory in England’s top flight.<\/p>\n The 30-year-old’s problems have returned with a vengeance this season. He has managed just 341 Premier League minutes overall.<\/p>\n A groin injury forced Partey to miss matches against Manchester United, Everton, Bournemouth and Tottenham earlier in the season. A return to the fray was cut short by a thigh injury in October and he has not played for club or country since.<\/p>\n “It was about common sense,” Arteta said earlier this month when asked about Partey’s omission from Ghana’s AFCON squad.<\/p>\n “He had a long-term injury. He was trying to push his rehab because he really wanted to be with his national team, but he’s still far from training with the team and it didn’t make sense for him to be involved.”<\/p>\n Partey and fellow long-term absentee Jurrien Timber have each travelled with Arsenal to their warm-weather training break in Dubai but, as Arteta stated, a return does not appear to be imminent.<\/p>\n Hughton did not sugarcoat the significance of the Black Stars being without Partey for their campaign in the Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n “Thomas Partey for sure, and I say this not in a detrimental way to the squad that we have, but he is one of our most important players,” the former Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United manager said.<\/p>\n “This we know and, withstanding his injury, he certainly would be in the squad. We know the quality of player that he is. This is a player that has a substantial injury.<\/p>\n “I’ve spent a lot over this period of time with Thomas and also engaging with the medical staff at Arsenal Football Club.<\/p>\n “They will treat this injury with caution, and so will the player. This is a big injury for him and the biggest injury that he’s had.<\/p>\n “The most important thing for me as head coach and our association is to give him the support that he needs through this period of time.<\/p>\n “From all the information that we’ve been given, the timelines of his recovery and the caution that will be taken, will not meet our timelines for the AFCON.”<\/p>\n Brothers\u00a0Andre Ayew\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Jordan Ayew\u00a0<\/strong>have more than 200 caps between them, but plenty of the emphasis when it comes to lifting a shot-shy attack will be on experienced forward\u00a0Inaki Williams<\/strong>, who has eight in 18 for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga this season.<\/p>\n
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<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Hughton’s side have been paired with Egypt, who lead the all-time AFCON standings with seven tournament successes.<\/p>\n Either side of that heavyweight clash with Mohamed Salah and company, Ghana will tackle Cape Verde and Mozambique in Group B.<\/p>\n
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<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Here’s how to watch AFCON 2024 matches across selected areas of the world’s major regions:<\/p>\n
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\t<\/p>\n Fubo Canada, beIN Sports Connect, Fanatiz<\/p>\n
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<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n USA:<\/strong>\u00a0The tournament will be available on beIN Sports with streaming options on Fubo.<\/p>\n Canada:<\/strong>\u00a0BeIN Sports will provide broadcast coverage with Fubo Canada on streaming duty.<\/p>\n UK:<\/strong>\u00a0Selected matches will be available on Sky Sports services with streaming available via Sky GO and Now TV.<\/p>\n Australia:<\/strong>\u00a0BeIN Sports will provide broadcast coverage and\u00a0streaming services for the tournament.<\/p>\n India:<\/strong>\u00a0Streaming service FanCode is the place to go for AFCON 2024 matches.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ghana begin their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Cape Verde on Sunday, January 14, with the Black Stars chasing their fifth continental title and a first since 1982. Their form under current boss Chris Hughton has been indifferent, despite the presence of talents such as Mohammed Kudus, Inaki Williams and the experienced Ayew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Thomas Partey is not playing at AFCON<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/library.sportingnews.com\/styles\/crop_style_16_9_desktop_webp\/s3\/2023-02\/Thomas%20Partey%20Arsenal.jpg.webp\")
<\/picture>\nWhat did Chris Hughton say about Thomas Partey?<\/h2>\n
Ghana AFCON 2023 squad\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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\n Position<\/th>\n Player<\/th>\n Club<\/th>\n \n GK<\/td>\n Richard Ofori<\/strong><\/td>\n Orlando Pirates (RSA)<\/td>\n \n GK<\/td>\n Lawrence Ati-Zigi<\/strong><\/td>\n St. Gallen (SUI)<\/td>\n \n GK<\/td>\n Joe Wollacott<\/strong><\/td>\n Hibernian\u00a0(SCO)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Daniel Amartey<\/strong><\/td>\n Besiktas (TUR)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Alexander Djiku<\/strong><\/td>\n Fenerbahce (TUR)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Gideon Mensah<\/strong><\/td>\n Auxerre (FRA)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Nicholas Opoku<\/strong><\/td>\n Amiens (FRA)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Alidu Seidu<\/strong><\/td>\n Clermont (FRA)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Denis Odoi<\/strong><\/td>\n Club Brugge (BEL)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Mohammed Salisu<\/strong><\/td>\n Monaco (FRA)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Kingsley Schindler<\/strong><\/td>\n Samsunspor (TUR)<\/td>\n \n DEF<\/td>\n Abdul Fatawu Hamidu<\/strong><\/td>\n Medeama (GHA)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Mohammed Kudus<\/strong><\/td>\n West Ham (ENG)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Iddrisu Baba<\/strong><\/td>\n Mallorca (ESP)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Salis Abdul Samed<\/strong><\/td>\n Lens (FRA)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Joseph Paintsil<\/strong><\/td>\n Genk (BEL)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Elisha Owusu<\/strong><\/td>\n Auxerre (FRA)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Majeed Ashimeru<\/strong><\/td>\n Anderlecht (BEL)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Ransford-Yeboah Konigsdorffer<\/strong><\/td>\n Hamburg (GER)<\/td>\n \n MID<\/td>\n Richmond Lamptey<\/strong><\/td>\n Asante Kotoko (GHA)<\/td>\n \n FWD<\/td>\n Andre Ayew<\/strong><\/td>\n Le Havre (FRA)<\/td>\n \n FWD<\/td>\n Jordan Ayew<\/strong><\/td>\n Crystal Palace (ENG)<\/td>\n \n FWD<\/td>\n Antoine Semenyo<\/strong><\/td>\n Bournemouth (ENG)<\/td>\n \n FWD<\/td>\n Inaki Williams\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n Athletic Bilbao (SPA)<\/td>\n \n FWD<\/td>\n Ernest Nuamah<\/strong><\/td>\n Lyon (FRA)<\/td>\n \n FWD<\/td>\n Osman Bukari<\/strong><\/td>\n Red Star Belgrade (SER)<\/td>\n \n FWD<\/td>\n Jonathan Sowah<\/strong><\/td>\n Medeama (GHA)<\/td>\n Ghana AFCON 2023 fixtures and results<\/h2>\n
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\n Date<\/strong><\/td>\n Fixture<\/strong><\/td>\n \n January 14<\/td>\n Ghana vs. Cape Verde<\/td>\n \n January 18<\/td>\n Egypt\u00a0vs. Ghana<\/td>\n \n January 22<\/td>\n Mozambique vs. Ghana<\/td>\n How to watch Ghana at AFCON 2024<\/h2>\n
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\n Region<\/strong><\/td>\n TV<\/strong><\/td>\n Streaming<\/strong><\/td>\n \n USA<\/strong><\/td>\n beIN Sports<\/td>\n Fubo,\u00a0beIN Sports Connect, Fanatiz<\/td>\n \n Canada<\/strong><\/td>\n beIN Sports Canada<\/td>\n
\t<\/p>\n \n UK<\/strong><\/td>\n Sky Sports<\/td>\n Sky GO, Now TV<\/td>\n \n Australia<\/strong><\/td>\n beIN Sports<\/td>\n beIN Sports<\/td>\n \n India<\/strong><\/td>\n \u2014<\/td>\n FanCode<\/td>\n
\n<\/ad><\/p>\n