Napoli winger Adam Ounas did not play a single minute at the Africa Cup of Nations due to a heart irregularity, coach Djamel Belmadi has confirmed.
The 25-year-old, who was a part of the winning squad in the 2019 AFCON, could do nothing but watch on from the sidelines as Algeria crashed out of the competition in the group stages. He has not made a single appearance for Napoli in 2022 so far.
Speaking after the elimination from AFCON, Algeria coach Belmadi discussed Ounas and explained that the 25-year-old didn’t feature due to concerns regarding his heart.
“We have decided on my instructions to maintain medical secrecy on Adam’s condition until now. He tested positive for COVID and the latest tests we carried out showed something in his heart, so he will have to do a lot more.
“If we had said that, we wouldn’t have seen the player again. Aubameyang and Lemina had to leave the tournament for that reason, we couldn’t say everything. We hadn’t given public news, now I can say that the player will have to do more tests.”
The 25-year-old Ounas, who is contracted to Napoli until 2023, has hardly featured this season under coach Luciano Spalletti. The Algerian winger has made 14 appearances across all competitions, for a total of 339 minutes. In that time, he has scored two goals, both of which came in the Europa League.
Napoli, il ct dell'Algeria su Ounas: 'Dopo il Covid riscontrate anomalie al cuore. Dovrà fare altri esami' https://t.co/dvi90LoaDh pic.twitter.com/q9H44sGnMf
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