Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's Africa Cup of Nations is over, with Gabon confirming the striker has been sent home without playing a single minute of the tournament.
The 32-year-old, who captains his national side, missed Gabon's opening game against Comoros after a positive Covid test and was left out of the starting line-up for the draw with Ghana when the Gabonese medical team discovered "cardiac lesions" shortly before the game.
While Aubameyang's omission against Ghana was believed to be a precautionary measure, the Gabonese FA (Fegafoot) have allowed him to return to Arsenal for further tests.
Former Fulham midfielder Mario Lemina, who missed the first two games for the same reason, has been sent back to his club Nice for tests of his own.
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Aubameyang and Lemina had returned to training ahead of the Ghana game, having tested positive for Covid upon arriving in Cameroon, and manager Patrice Neveu confirmed the decision was taken in order to allow testing which cannot be carried out at the tournament.
“Since yesterday, the decision was taken to send them home to their club,” Neveu told Goal.
“We can’t judge it here [in Cameroon], we can’t assess the pathology of Covid here.
“It’s important that Mario returns to Nice and Pierre returns to Arsenal. It’s a decision that we’ve taken among ourselves.”
"Losing Pierre-Emerick and Mario, it’s a lot for this team. We don’t have the squad of Nigeria or Morocco, and we know we’re in a hard competition.”
A return of four points from two games means Gabon are all but guaranteed to reach the knockout stages of the tournament.
Four of the third-placed finishers in the group will progress to the last 16, as well as all six winners and runners-up.
Following a narrow win over Comoros in the opening game, Neveu's team secured a late point against Ghana in a game which would be overshadowed by a Ghana player throwing a punch after the final whistle.
"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," a statement from Fegafoot read, as translated by Goal.
Gabon's final group game against Morocco is due to take place on Tuesday, and victory would see them overtake their opponents to claim top spot in group C.
Depending on where they finish in their group, Gabon will play their last-16 game on January 23 or 25.
Aubameyang's future away from the tournament also remains in the balance, with the striker not featuring for his club since December 6.
A January move has been mooted, after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stripped him of the captaincy before the turn of the year, with Juventus among the clubs reportedly interested.
