Sadio Mane learns World Cup fate as Senegal make injury statement days before first game | Football | Sport
Sadio Mane will miss the World Cup with the leg injury he picked up for Bayern Munich in their penultimate game before the tournament. Senegal are a potential opponent for England in the round of 16 but will now be significantly weaker in Qatar after losing their talisman.
Mane had been a major doubt for the World Cup after injuring his fibula in Bayern’s 6-1 win over Werder Bremen. It was initially immediately reported that he would miss the tournament but it was denied by Senegal as they looked to give him as much time to make the tournament as possible.
However, he underwent more scans this week and he will not be able to regain fitness before the tournament. He will now undergo surgery on the injury with his nation wishing him a ‘speedy recovery’ in a short statement confirming he won’t play in the tournament.
Mane is one of Senegal’s key players having scored 34 goals in 93 caps since making his debut in 2012. The nation have been drawn in Group A alongside the Netherlands, Ecuador and hosts Qatar and could be a potential round of 16 opponent for England, should the Three Lions get that far.
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Senegal had been hoping for a miracle in order to get the player to the tournament and were prepared to use witch doctors in a desperate attempt to make any kind of difference.
“We are going to use witch doctors,’ Fatma Samoura, the Secretary General of FIFA and a former Senegalese diplomat and senior executive, told Europe 1. “I don’t know (if they’re effective) but in this instance, we’re going to use them anyway. We are hoping for miracles. He has to be there!”
Mane was set to have a reunion with former Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk in his nation’s first match but it will now not materialise after he had to pull out. The Dutchman knows better than most about what it means to miss a major tournament after missing the delayed Euro 2020 with a serious knee injury.
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“I’ve spoken to him,” the defender told reporters after the Netherlands squad arrived in Qatar. “I was feeling sad for him, first and foremost. I’m not happy in this case and I’ve been in that situation where I missed the Euros.
“We as players, we work so hard to get to this stage and he has been such an important figure in that group, for their country.
“I know for a fact that he will put a brave face on it, but it’s tough and I feel sorry for him. I just want to tell him that whether he plays yes or no, it’s going to be such a tough game.
“It’s going to be tough if he plays yes or not. I don’t think he will play, but they still have a fantastic team. We will prepare well for them and the whole tournament is going to be tough.”
