Mane’s World Cup absence is a crushing blow for Senegal

• Senegal’s star Sadio Mane has been dropped from the team
• He has lost the race to be healthy for the 2022 World Cup
• The nation’s football association declared on Thursday

The 30-year-old, who finished behind Karim Benzema in the Ballon d’Or voting last month, underwent “successful surgery” in Innsbruck where “a tendon was reattached to the head of his right fibula,” according to Bayern Munich, which added this afterwards.

Mane “will begin his rehab in Munich in the next few days,” according to Bayern.

The Senegalese have suffered greatly as a result of the talismanic Mane’s absence. He replicated the feat against the same opponents to qualify the Lions of Teranga for the World Cup. He had previously netted the winning penalty in a shootout triumph against Egypt in the African Cup of Nations final.

🇸🇳 ❤️‍🔥 | #football #senegal pic.twitter.com/PXVJp4sRfH

— Football Senegal (@FootballSenegal) November 17, 2022

Mane has scored 33 goals in 92 games for Senegal and was named the African footballer of the year for his achievements.

He sustained a shin injury while playing for Bayern earlier this month, but was nonetheless selected for the World Cup team in the hopes that he would recover quickly.

Senegal, though, declared on Thursday that the former Liverpool player would not succeed.

“Unfortunately, today´s (Thursday) MRI shows us that the improvement is not as favorable as we imagined and unfortunately we have to withdraw Sadio from the World Cup,” said team doctor, Manuel Afonso in a video on the official Senegal Twitter account.

The attacker was initially expected to be ready for Senegal’s opening match against the Netherlands on November 21.

In Group A, they will compete against the hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

Augustin Senghor, president of the Senegal Football Federation, told AFP on Thursday that there had been no panic at the defeat and that the player’s health had been the main factor in their choice.

Senghor stated, “We have been ready for this since the news of his injury,”

“We had been waiting for new test results and when they came in we all agreed his health had to come first.”

Senghor said, “Zen,” when asked how the team had handled the blow.

However, Pape Gueye, a Senegal international, told AFP that Mane would be missed.

He declared, “Mane is irreplaceable.”

But there are still alternatives on the flank, which is a glimmer of optimism for Senegal on a day of despair.

Coach Aliou Cisse was hopeful yet cautious after including Mane in his World Cup team a week ago.

“Losing Sadio Mane is not an easy thing for a coach, for the team, even for African football,” he said.

Mane had been seeking medical attention with his team in Munich.

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