Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang tests positive for COVID-19 after night of partying before AFCON 2021

• Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival at Yaounde's airport in Cameroon
• The Arsenal striker is now likely to miss Gabon’s opening two fixtures against Comoros and Ghana
• The 32-year old forward was dropped by Arsenal and stripped of the club's captaincy last month for disciplinary reasons

Gabon captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations ESPN reports.

The Arsenal striker was videoed partying with teammates in Dubai as he was released early from the Gunners camp amid disciplinary issues which saw the London club strip him of the captaincy.

The BBC reports Nice midfielder Mario Lemina also returned a positive lateral flow test result and all players have now gone into isolation according to Head coach Patrice Neveu.

Gabon will open their campaign at this year’s AFCON when they square up against Group C opponents Comoros on Monday, January 10, with their second group game against Ghana on Friday, January 14 .

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Both Aubameyang and Lemina are likely to miss Gabon’s opening two fixtures as both players are supposed to isolate for a minimum of 7 days.

The former Dortmund striker has already missed games for Arsenal in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign due to testing positive for Covid-19.

Aubameyang has scored 29 goals in 71 caps for Gabon and will be a crucial miss for the Panthers. In 2021 he scored three goals in six appearances for the national team.

Zambia Ready to Step in at 2021 AFCON Should FIFA Ban Zimbabwe

Earlier Sportsbrief reported The Zimbabwean Football Association is currently under the watchful eye of FIFA, which has threatened to ban the organization from international football until further. This is due to reported political interference by the country's government in its football matters.

This would mean that no official Zimbabwean team at any level would be allowed to participate in any FIFA and CAF sanctioned event. This has opened the door to Zambia replacing the Warriors of Zimbabwe at Afcon 2021.