Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been ruled out of Gabon’s Africa Cup of Nations game against Ghana on Friday with ‘heart lesions’ after a bout of Covid.
Ex-Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina, now at Nice, and forward Axel Meye have been ruled out for the same reason.
Gabon beat Comoros 1-0 in their Afcon opener, on Monday.
Victory against Ghana would assure them of an automatic qualifying spot for the knockout stages, alongside Group C leaders Morocco.
The Gabon Football Federation suggested that all three absences were precautionary, posting on Twitter that the tournament organisers “did not want to take the risk” after discovering the result of the scan.
Aubameyang, who also tested positive for Covid in August 2021 while on Arsenal duty, was dropped and stripped of the club captaincy last month for disciplinary reasons.
