Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been dropped from the Ghana squad following "confidential" discussions with manager Otto Addo.
The Black Stars' latest squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which will see them face Angola and Niger later this month, notably lacked Partey's presence.
Addo has since confirmed that Partey was left out after a conversation between the two, though he refrained from disclosing the reasons behind his exclusion. "I had a confidential talk with Thomas," Addo stated. "I am a coach who always likes to protect the players, so I hope for your understanding."
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He added: "For me, the team is like family, I am not coming out with internal issues - but I made it quite clear to him. He wanted to come, but I made it quite clear why he is not coming.
"Like I said, it's confidential. It is difficult for me to mention all the things. It's like that. We have to move on. Now, as you know, Thomas is not coming and it's not a permanent thing, so we are always open for him to return."
He concluded by expressing hope that Partey would improve upon the issues they discussed and possibly rejoin the team in the next window in March. Partey, 31, who has earned 51 caps for his country since his debut in 2016 and has often captained Ghana, will see his role taken over by Leicester's Jordan Ayew for this month's matches.
Before being dropped from international duty, Partey has had an impressive start to the season, playing 15 times across all competitions.
With a defensive injury crisis striking North London, he's even stepped into a defensive role, earning Mikel Arteta's commendation. The Arsenal boss expressed his thoughts: "I'll need to make that assessment once I have more clarity about where he struggled, but I don't have the impression he struggled much."
"Every time we have that situation with Thomas playing a different position, it's because we don't have another right-back at the moment. We're always going to have that debate, and Thomas is fantastic."
