Cameroon, Jan 17 (IANS): Gabon manager Patrice Neveu has confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be sent back to Arsenal for further checks on the heart issue which has prevented him from featuring at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Aubameyang is in Cameroon with the team but has not played after a check-up in the wake of his recovery from Covid-19 revealed he was suffering from 'heart problems'. Gabon were considering sending him back to Arsenal for more in-depth health tests, Neveu confirmed on Monday.

"Since yesterday, the decision was taken to send them home to their club. We can't judge it here (in Cameroon), we can't assess the pathology of Covid here," Neveu quoted as saying The Athletic.

"It's important that Mario returns to Nice and Pierre returns to Arsenal," he added. "It's a decision that we've taken among ourselves," He added.

Aubameyang tested positive for the Covid-19 after landing in Cameroon but, after missing Gabon's opening game, recorded a negative test and returned to team training on Thursday. He was scheduled to play in Friday's 1-1 draw with Ghana, only for a fresh health check-up to rule him out.

Further tests were carried out on Sunday in the hope of this being a one-off occurrence, but the same heart problem was detected once again and the decision has been made to send Aubameyang back to London.