Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang announced on Thursday that he was recently hospitalized with malaria.
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Aubameyang revealed that he contracted the mosquito-borne infectious disease while on international duty for Gabon two weeks ago, and he spent part of the past week in the hospital for treatment — from Aubameyang’s Instagram post:“I’ve spent a few days in hospital this week but I’m already feeling much better every day, thanks to the great doctors that detected and treated the virus so quickly.
“I wasn’t really feeling myself the last couple weeks but will be back stronger than ever soon.”
Having already missed last weekend’s Premier League fixture against Sheffield United, Aubameyang was once again not with his Arsenal teammates for the Europa League quarterfinals second-leg clash with Slavia Prague on Thursday.
The 31-year-old striker is also expected to miss the Gunners’ game against Fulham on Sunday (Watch live at 8:30 am ET, on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com). Arsenal will host Everton at home in Premier League action five days later, on Friday, at which point Aubameyang could conceivably return to the squad.
Despite having a down season, Aubameyang still ranks second at Arsenal with nine Premier League goals this season, four behind leader Alexandre Lacazette.