Senegal’s Sadio Mane Ruled Out Of World Cup
Senegal forward Sadio Mane has been ruled out of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup in a crushing blow to his team’s chances after officials confirmed he would need surgery on a leg injury sustained in the run-up to the tournament.
Mane had been a doubt for the West African side after injuring his right fibula playing for German club Bayern Munich.
“Unfortunately, today’s (Thursday) MRI shows us that the recovery is not as favourable as we hoped and we unfortunately resolve to declare Sadio’s withdrawal from the World Cup,” Senegal team doctor Manuel Afonso told reporters.
Mane has been crucial to the recent success of Senegal, who are regarded as Africa’s best hope at the World Cup. His absence will be a blow to their chances of advancing out of Group A, where they face the Netherlands on Monday before playing host nation Qatar and Ecuador.
The African Footballer of the Year has been Senegal’s talisman, scoring the winning penalty at the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon in February and six weeks later securing World Cup qualification.
On both occasions they beat Mohamed Salah’s Egypt.
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.
