Ghana Coach Chris Hughton Explains Partey's Absence in AFCON Qualifier Against Angola in Luanda

• Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey missed the AFCON qualifier against Angola in Luanda
• The Black Stars were held to a 1-1 draw by the Palancas Negras on Monday
• Partey will fly to England for further assessment ahead of the return of the EPL

Black Stars coach, Chris Hughton has revealed that Thomas Partey is carrying a knock which prevented him from playing the game against Angola in Luanda.

Partey travelled with his teammates to Angola but was an unused substitute as the Black Stars shared the spoils in the Group E encounter.

Having gone down to an early second-half Lucas Joao penalty, the Black Stars levelled through substitute Osman Bukari to return home with a point.

Explaining Partey's absence after the match, Hughton confirmed the Arsenal midfielder suffered a minor knock after playing 90 minutes in Kumasi against the same opposition.

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“Thomas has some small issues, a small injury issue and we felt it was too big of a risk to start him," said Hughton during the post-match interview.

Meanwhile, Hughton went on to praise his players for fighting back to earn a draw in Luanda.

"The strategy defensively was that Angola has some very good technical players, especially in the attacking areas. So we knew that defensively we would have to be good and we would have to be solid," he said.

"But because they're such a good, expansive, technical team, we wanted to use the spaces, utilise the spaces and attack fast. I thought once Angola scored the penalty, it gave us a lift, it gave us inspiration to get back into the game."

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The Black Stars will travel to Madagascar in June for the penultimate group game before finishing off the qualifiers with a home match against the Central African Republic.

Partey and his teammates arrived in Ghana in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Bukari scores as Ghana draw in Angola

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Osman Bukari needed only sixty seconds to make an impact after scoring immediately following his introduction in the game against Angola.

The Black Stars conceded early in the second half after Reading striker Lucas Joao scored from the penalty spot.

The hosts started the game brightly with midfielder Fredy testing Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi from long range after just eight minutes.