Expert shares insight on Arsenal-Aubameyang ‘drama’ after update in last 24 hrs
Arsenal have been right to err on the side of caution over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s heart scare.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Aubameyang was unable to represent Gabon at the Africa Cup of Nations after scans from their medical department revealed “heart lesions”, per BBC Sport last Saturday (15 January).
That came after the 32-year-old centre-forward had recovered from a bout of Covid.
But Aubameyang revealed via Instagram yesterday (20 January) that tests have concluded that his “heart is absolutely fine”.
Dinnery revealed he had spoken to a heart specialist about the terminology used by the Gabon camp to describe the former Arsenal skipper’s problem.
“This isn’t my area of expertise but I do know a guy who knows a guy who’s a cardiologist,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“I spoke to him regarding this term ‘heart lesions’. He said it’s a fairly vague term. It can mean a variety of things or it can mean nothing at all.
“He is coming back to the UK for extensive tests, and that is when we’ll find out more.
“After his return from training, they were hopeful he could participate in AFCON.
“Heart problems are certainly topical after the Eriksen incident at the Euros.
“It’s certainly at the forefront of people’s minds and you need to err on the side of caution as any damage to the heart muscle can affect its function.
“Covid primarily attacks the lungs but if the heart is suffering some kind of defect, you can’t take any risks whatsoever.
“It sounds dramatic but it may just be minor, a little bit of discomfort or shortness of breath.“
“They’ll have wanted him to go through those tests just to see if there are any underlying problems that could cause further issues down the line.
Aubameyang has scored seven times and supplied two assists this term.
He has not played since being stripped of the captaincy last month because of a disciplinary issue.
In other news, pundit tells Arsenal to “beat Spurs” to “brilliant” Djed Spence signing after Sky update.