Jesus Owono will not be pulling on his gloves for Equatorial Guinea's AFCON 2027 qualifying matches. The goalkeeper asked to be left out of the squad, and the team respected that request.
The reason is a painful one. Owono sought the absence following the death of Tenerife forward Jesus De Miguel, a loss that clearly hit close to home for the player.
There is no further detail yet on the nature of their connection or on how long Owono expects to be away from international duty. What is clear is that the team gave him the space he needed, and football, for now, has had to wait.
Originally published by BBC Africa.