Gabon head coach Patrice Neveu has suggested that he felt "under pressure" to let striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang return to Arsenal.
The striker has returned to north London from the African Cup of Nations ahead of schedule due to ongoing heart problems.
He was left out of his nation’s squad to face Ghana, with scan results suggesting that there could be an issue. It follows Aubameyang's positive test for Covid-19 immediately before the start of the tournament.
With no immediate resolution forthcoming, Gabon have been forced to let the striker depart camp for further tests alongside former Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina.
It is a decision that wrangles with Gabon coach Neveu having seen the Gunners appeal for Aubameyang ’s return.
As quoted by Sky Sports, he said: "What I know is that they've been Covid free for the last 72 hours. We couldn't arrange an MRI for them, and as a result they couldn't train.
"It was really annoying for them to stay in their rooms. We made the decision yesterday with the President and under pressure from the clubs too, because they're worried so that [Aubameyang] should go back to Arsenal and Mario [Lemina] back to Nice."
Whilst the decision to let Aubameyang depart for the rest of the tournament, Neveu did concede that it was in the Gunners' best interest to call their player back.
He continued: "As you know, he's a key player for Arsenal, although he's going through a tough period at the moment. We still have to report to clubs.
"And when a player's health is affected and as you know they are paid by the club, we have to be reasonable at some point."
There were some rumours that Aubameyang - and indeed Lemina - had been released for other reasons but the former Arsenal captain refuted that was the case in a short statement published on Twitter.
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."
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