Why football continues to tread carefully with COVID-19 and its dangers to the heart – The Athletic

January was quite the month for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. One moment it was a life in exile with Arsenal, the next a fresh start with Barcelona. I am living a dream, said Aubameyang after his chaotic deadline day yielded a grand personal prize.

Between the wilderness at Arsenal and a late escape to La Liga, though, came a spell of uncertainty.

Aubameyang had been due to spend much of January at the Africa Cup of Nations as captain of Gabon, only to test positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Cameroon. A subsequent examination, carried out by the Confederation of African Footballs (CAF) medical commission, then discovered cardiac lesions during routine scans.

CAF chose not to take any risks and ruled Aubameyang, along with team-mates Axel Meye and Mario Lemina, out of their group game with Ghana on January 14. All three had tested positive for COVID-19 and all three, CAF said, had been found to have the same heart problem.

Meye was soon cleared to return and feature for Gabon in their games against Morocco and Burkina Faso but Aubameyang and Lemina were sent back to their clubs before the qualifying group had even reached its conclusion.

Then, mercifully, came the reassurance. I came back to London to do some additional checks, and Im very happy to say that my heart is absolutely fine and Im completely healthy! wrote Aubameyang on Instagram.

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Why football continues to tread carefully with COVID-19 and its dangers to the heart - The Athletic