Friday, January 14, 2022 at 8:13 PM• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 20:15

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did not appear at the kick-off at Gabon on Friday evening for the Africa Cup match with Ghana. The medical team of the African Football Association (CAF) has diagnosed the 32-year-old Arsenal attacker with a heart problem, the Gabonese Football Association reported. The same goes for teammates Axel Meyé and Mario Lemina.

Aubameyang, Meyé and Lemina became infected with the corona virus at the beginning of this week and for that reason had to miss the opening game against the Comoros (0-1 win). The three would return on Friday after a negative test in the match selection of Gabon, but the CAF put a stop to that. “Research revealed heart defects,” explains the Gabonese federation. “The CAF didn’t want to take any chances.” No further details are given about the nature of the heart problems.

It is now known that inflammation of the heart muscle can occur after a corona infection. Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies also recently had corona and is now struggling with the aforementioned problem, it was announced on Friday. “We are conducting a follow-up investigation with every player with corona,” said trainer Julian Nagelsmann at the press conference. “Bee Phonzy we saw signs of a mild form of myocarditis (inflamed heart muscle, ed.). He is currently not training. He will not be available for the next few weeks.”