Emile Smith Rowe has travelled with the Arsenal squad to face Aston Villa but Thomas Partey has not, according to reports.

Writing on Twitter and their Instagram story, LeakedLineups reported on Friday night that Emile Smith Rowe has travelled with the Arsenal squad to face Aston Villa on Saturday, but Thomas Partey had not.

Chris Wheatley then confirmed that Partey wouldn’t be involved for Arsenal against Aston Villa as a precautionary measure, due to a muscular injury.

Wheatley added that Smith Rowe would be included in the squad after recovering from a thigh problem.

This comeback was hinted at in the Arsenal u21s’ team selection on Friday night, with Amario Cozier-Duberry returning to the academy side for a start.

Cozier-Duberry had been filling a first-team spot for the last few games, so his return to the u21s suggested one of Arsenal’s injured players had made their comeback.

With Smith Rowe back, Arsenal are now down to their last three injury absentees. As well as Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Gabriel Jesus remain out of action, with Elneny expected to miss the remainder of the season.

As for Jesus, Mikel Arteta continues to refuse to put a timeline on the striker’s comeback.

Earlier this week, the Arsenal head coach confirmed Jesus was still a few weeks away.

“He’s in a good moment [with] the rehab right now, but he hasn’t even trained with the team,” Arteta said. “So, he’s still a few weeks off.”

Jesus has returned to London Colney after his knee injury, and he’s taking part in individual training sessions, but Arteta has been keen to play down any talk of an imminent return.