Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has detailed the challenges he faced when struck down with malaria last month — admitting he lost 4kg in the “worst moment of his life”.
The 31-year-old took to Instagram on April 15 to confirm he was suffering from the illness, with which he played in Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League fixtures against Liverpool and Slavia Prague.
Aubameyang has had a tough season both on and off the pitch, and will be looking to bounce back with the Europa League semi-final second leg on the horizon.
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What did Aubameyang say?
The club captain admitted he was unaware of the illness initially, which saw him come off the bench against Slavia Prague (assisting Nicolas Pepe’s opener) and start against Liverpool.
“I was feeling normal, a bit down. I thought it was the travel because going to Gabon, it’s not so close to here. I just felt a bit tired, especially against Liverpool,” he said.
“I thought it was just because of the travel and I don’t know what the percentage was of my form (fitness) at that moment because I didn’t know that I had malaria. Definitely, I felt a bit tired.”
Once the severity of the illness increased, Aubameyang revealed the ordeal was one of the toughest he’d experienced.
“I was feeling very, very bad. I think this was the worst moment of being sick in my life. I had for three days in a row, fever all day and all night non-stop. Even the paracetamol had no effect,” he added.
“After that, I spoke to the doctor, I said I needed to go to the hospital because I was travelling to Africa so maybe it was something like malaria. I stayed in the hospital for three days, I was really, really down and I think I lost four kilos, so it was a really bad moment. I think my family was a bit scared to see me like this.
“After that, I had some good treatment, I have to tell the truth that the staff did really well and the doctors as well in the hospital. I’m lucky we took it at the right moment because sometimes with malaria, if you don’t treat it quickly you can have some big problems.”
How long was he ruled out?
The forward missed four games between April 11 and April 23 as he looked to recover from the illness.
His first absence came against Sheffield United, which was revealed by The Athletic the day prior.
How has he performed since returning?
Aubameyang has made two appearances since returning to the first team.
His first came off the bench away to Villarreal in the Europa League semi-final first leg. With Arsenal a man-down, he did not have too many chances but slipped when about to pull the trigger late on.
Starting for the first time at Newcastle, his movement in and around the box was effective, although there were moments where he tired. The lack of sharpness showed as he scuffed a shot into Mohamed Elneny’s path for the opening goal, but he was a presence throughout and finished well to double Arsenal’s lead in the second half.
Ahead of the second leg, he said he feels “90 per cent” physically but “more than 100 per cent” mentally.
(Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
