Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has pulled out of Gabon’s squad to face Zambia on Tuesday, instead flying back to London on Monday night.

The French media are reporting that Aubameyang left the Gabonese squad on Monday, ahead of their friendly match. The goalscorer in their weekend AFCON qualifier against Burundi, Aubameyang won’t be available for selection this time around.

There’s no specific reason given for the striker’s absence, with the only details in the report being that he’s already flown back to Europe.

Hopefully, Aubameyang and his country’s federation simply made the decision not to overplay him. The friendly match isn’t particularly important, of course, and having played 90 minutes at the weekend with a game for Arsenal coming up on Saturday, a rest for 29-year-old would be more than welcome.

Gabon have more key AFCON qualifiers coming up next month, so it’s in their interest to make sure Aubameyang doesn’t run himself into the ground before then.

We’ll have to wait for further updates from Arsenal or Gabon manager Jose Antonio Camacho.