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Football

17th Jan 2022

Aubameyang leaves AFCON early to return to Arsenal

Callum Boyle

Aubameyang didn’t play a single minute for Gabon

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been released from Gabon’s Africa Cup of Nations squad early and allowed to return to Arsenal for medical examinations after he was recently diagnosed with heart lesions.

Aubameyang has been in touch with the Gunners, who believe that the situation isn’t serious, and are awaiting confirmation from the Gabon Football Federation for his return.

The GFF released a statement confirming that the Arsenal forward will return to England to undergo medical examinations.

It read: “The Gabonese Football Federation has decided to put the players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina at the disposal of their clubs to continue the in-depth examinations.”

The 31-year-old had tested positive for Covid-19 shortly before flying out to link up with his national team and had returned to training feeling healthy with no problems.

But the forward wasn’t named in either of Gabon’s squads for their group games against Comoros and Ghana, confirming he wouldn’t feature in any of the fixtures after releasing a statement explaining he was suffering from “cardiac lesions” and that they didn’t want to risk his health.

Aubameyang hasn’t featured for his club since being forced out of the picture by boss Mikel Arteta after a disciplinary breach.

As a result, the 31-year-old was also stripped of his captaincy and has been linked with moves away from the Emirates Stadium, including a loan-to-buy deal to Newcastle United.

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