Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a double boost ahead of their Premier League meeting with Arsenal this weekend.
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That's according to a report by The Express, who claim that both Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey are now doubts for the visit of Spurs in Saturday afternoon's north London derby, after the duo both withdrew from their respective international side's after picking up knocks.
Left-back Tierney has returned to north London as a result of the concussion protocol after taking a bang to the head during Scotland's 2-1 Nations League victory over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday evening, while Partey is back at Colney earlier than anticipated due to a knee injury that saw the midfielder miss Ghana's 3-0 defeat to Brazil last Friday.
Big boost for Spurs
Considering just how important both Tierney and Partey are within Mikel Arteta's first-team squad, should both players be unavailable for selection this weekend, it would undoubtedly come as a big boost to Spurs' chances of taking all three points back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Indeed, the left-back has featured in six of Arsenal's seven Premier League fixtures so far this season, with the £28.8m-rated defender helping the Gunners keep one clean sheet, as well as making an average of 0.8 interceptions, 0.8 tackles and one clearance per game - with these returns seeing the 25-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.78.
The Scot would be of greater importance should fellow left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko miss the clash, with the Ukrainian nursing his own fitness concern in the last few weeks. If neither are fit, then the Gunners would have a real problem on their hands to contain Tottenham's lively attack.
Meanwhile, Parety has started all four of the league fixtures in which he has been available for selection this season, with the £32.4m-rated talent making an average of 2.5 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 50.8 passes and winning 6.3 duels - at a success rate of 51% - per fixture.
These metrics have seen the 29-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.90, ranking him as Arteta's joint tenth-best performer in the top flight of English football so far in 2022/23 - playing a key role in the Gunners' top of the table standing.
As such, without the option of Tierney at left-back and Partey's ability to marshal the midfield against Tottenham, it is clear to see that Antonio Conte's side boast a much better chance of defeating Arsenal than if the duo were available - with a win against their most fierce rivals seeing Spurs overtake the Gunners at the summit of the Premier League table, something that would undoubtedly delight everyone involved with the Lilywhites.