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Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was sent back by Gabon from AFCON 2021. He was unable to play a single match for the African side this year.
The former Dortmund star tested positive for Covid-19 and had to sit out the first match for the Black Stars. However, even after testing negative, he was unable to get match time.
His negative reports showed coronavirus residue, which prompted medical examiners to stop him from playing further for now. They are eager to send him back to Europe, where he can carry out further tests and get the pathology reports.
Gabon head coach Patrice Neveu told GOAL:
“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 (Lemina) returns to Nice and Pierre returns to Arsenal. It’s a decision that we’ve taken among ourselves.”
Gabon Football Federation released a statement, saying:
"The Gabonese Football Federation has decided to put the players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina back at the disposition of their clubs in order for them to follow more in-depth exams."
Aubameyang clears the air on his AFCON return
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's return sparked rumors of further indiscipline. The Arsenal forward was already under the scanner at the Emirates after a fallout with head coach Mikel Arteta.
However, his return from Gabon was simply related to his health situation. The player cleared the air on it and said:
"We have problems that are already complicated to solve, then on top of that there are rumours, in short, we have health to take care of first and foremost, I won't go back to address these false rumours and I sincerely hope that our team will go as far as possible."
His Gabon teammate Lemina also wrote:
“I’m not even going to feed the lies which seek to harm. I have nothing to do with them. I have pain upon pain for my national team, which is surrounded by liars seeking a buzz."
Gabon are placed second in their AFCON group with four points after two matches. Their third match is against Morocco later tonight.
Aubameyang's return to Arsenal could prove to be a short stay as the club might be seeking to sell him in the January transfer window.
