Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sent back to Arsenal from AFCON due to Covid-19 doubts

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tested positive for Covid-19 in the run-up to the Africa Cup of Nations but was eligible for selection in Gabon's fixture against Ghana on Friday. The Arsenal striker was left out of the squad and missed out on featuring in his third successive match for his home country and the Gabon federation has confirmed that he is still feeling the ill-effects of the virus.

Scans were done by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) with two other Gabon players Axel Meye and Mario Lemina also being removed from the squad due to the same reason. Aubameyang’s comeback was blocked by the Panther’s medical staff on the basis of his health concerns. Gabon head coach Patrice Neveu has confirmed that the striker will be allowed to link up and return to Arsenal in order to allow him to recuperate to full fitness and also allow the nature of the virus to be properly assessed.

“Since yesterday, the decision was taken to send them home to their club. We can’t judge it here [in Cameroon], we can’t assess the pathology of Covid here. It’s important that Mario returns to Nice and Pierre returns to Arsenal. It’s a decision that we’ve taken among ourselves,” Neveu told GOAL.