Gabon striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has insisted he was sent home the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations due to medical reasons, and not a disciplinary breach.
The Arsenal man did not play in any of his country’s opening two games at the tournament.
He missed the win over Comoros after contracting COVID-19 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.”
