Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has insisted he departed the Africa Cup of Nations due to medical reasons amid speculation of a disciplinary breach.
The Arsenal forward did not feature in either of Gabon’s opening two games at the finals, missing the win over Comoros after contracting coronavirus and then being ruled out of Friday’s draw with Ghana due to a heart concern.
Gabon announced last week that Aubameyang, along with team-mates Mario Lemina and Axel Meye, had been found to have “cardiac lesions”.
The problem was not thought to be serious, but the Gabonese Football Federation has now said Arsenal and Lemina’s club Nice will be able to check on their players.
A statement read: “The Gabon Football Federation decided to make the players Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina available to their clubs to continue the in-depth examinations.”
Rumours emerged on social media soon after the announcement that Aubameyang and Lemina had contravened disciplinary protocols.
Aubameyang, however, tweeted on Monday evening to dismiss such accusations.
Translated from French, he wrote: “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 on these false rumours and I sincerely hope that our team will go as far as possible.”
Midfielder Lemina also took to social media to address the issue, saying on his Instagram Stories: “I’m not even going to feed lies that seek to harm. I have nothing to do (with it).”
Aubameyang, 32, did not feature for Arsenal in the five games leading up to his departure to Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations.
He was stripped of the club captaincy and dropped from the first team after returning late from a sanctioned trip abroad – not his first breach of discipline during his time at the Emirates Stadium.
The PA news agency understands Arsenal were in the dark about Aubameyang’s position when Gabon announced his departure and it remains to be seen if he will be back in the first-team picture when he is deemed fit enough to return to action.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here