Senegal and Bayern Munich striker Sadio Mane will not take part in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, his country’s federation announced on Thursday.
Mane, 30, picked up the injury in Bayern’s 6-1 win over Werder Bremen on Nov. 8. He was substituted on 20 minutes with the team describing it the day after the match as an injury to the head of the fibula bone in his lower right leg.
– 2022 World Cup: All squad lists for Qatar
– World Cup 2022: ESPN ranks the 50 best players in Qatar
Despite the injury, Mane was still included in the Senegal squad for the World Cup and was expected to miss at least their first game of the tournament against the Netherlands on Nov. 20.
However, the team revealed in a news conference on Thursday that further scans on the two-time African player of the year showed he would require surgery for the injury and would not be able to play in Qatar.
“The latest news has arrived just now, and since the injury to Sadio Mane which happened on Nov. 8, we made contact very quickly with Bayern Munich to have the information,” Senegal team doctor Manuel Afonso told reporters. “The next day, the club communicated to us the images of the first MRI he undertook, which showed an injury to his right knee and for which we went to examine the player and take another look at the images right at the heart of the club.
“This is why I travelled on the 10th and 11th of November to get all of his data. It was decided to undergo another MRI today [Nov. 17] to understand the evolution and determine whether or not it was possible for Sadio Mane to keep his place at the World Cup.
“And, sadly, today’s MRI has shown that the evolution is not as favourable as we’d have imagined, and so we’ve resolved — sadly — to declare that Mane is forfeit for this World Cup, and normally a surgical intervention will be scheduled very shortly.”
Senegal will face hosts Qatar and then Ecuador in Group A after their opener against the Dutch.
