Aubameyang “does not have heart problems” and is expected to play at AFCON

The Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has had a very chaotic month since he was dropped by Mikel Arteta after returning late from a quick trip to France.

He was then stripped of his captaincy and told to train away from the first team, before being allowed to leave early to join up with his Gabon team-mates ahead of AFCON.

The somehow he managed to contract Covid on the journey and had to miss his country’s opening game (a 1-0 win over Comoros) and then was withdrawn against Ghana which ended as a 1-1 draw.

There were reports of “heart lesions” found after his recovery from Covid, but it seems that it is not as worrying as we all thought at first.

The Gabon coach Patrice Neveu clarified the situation earlier when he told the Daily Mail ‘They passed the PCR tests, which were negative, and then they did the second battery of medical tests and it seems that both of them have a problem,’

‘I was on the phone with the team doctor and CAF and they told me not to play them, because their health must take precedence.

‘The virus has left some residue on the MRI tests that they underwent. Aubameyang and Lemina don’t have heart problems, but COVID may have left some waste, so it was wise not to play and we followed the protocols.’

‘There are four days before the next match and I hope to have them back because we really need them. Fortunately, CAF allowed us to take a squad of 28 to the tournament because otherwise I would have been unable to cope. This virus is tenacious. I myself had it but it was gone in two days.’

Whatever Aubameyang’s problems with Arteta and Arsenal, I am sure all Gooners are happy to hear that he is not seriously ill, and maybe we will get to see him play in Gabon’s next game against Morocco