Nathan Ake says Sadio Mane’s absence from the World Cup is a blow for the World Cup - despite it boosting Holland’s group stage chances.
Holland take on Senegal in their Group A opener on Monday, with their opponents missing star man Mane, who has been ruled out of the tournament through injury.
Former Liverpool forward Mane, who joined Bayern Munich in the summer, underwent surgery on a calf injury on Thursday, ruling him out of the tournament.
Manchester City defender Ake said Mane’s enforced absence would not see Holland take Senegal more lightly and claimed the World Cup was made for players like the 30-year-old.
“Not only him, but all of the injuries are a negative for the World Cup,” said Ake. “The World Cup is for these kinds of players. I think everyone wants to see these kinds of players in the tournament. So it's not a good thing.
"It's never a nice thing to see when someone gets injured, so he will be a big miss for the tournament. But will still go into the game against Senegal with the same mindset, even though he's not there, but we have to perform, because it's still going to be a tough match.
"I still think it's going to be a very tough game. They have a lot of well-known players and their strike force is very powerful. Obviously Mane isn’t going to be there, but still they have very good players.
“From now on, we're going to analyse them and see how we're going to play against them. So for sure it will be a very tough game.
“I think people see us as favourites to qualify from our group, but if you see teams like Senegal and the players they have in the team, it’s not going to be easy, especially as they are our first game. After that game we can judge how we’re going, but that first game will be vital.”
Ake paid tribute to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola for making him a better player, admitting he had to overcome a tough first season with the Premier League champions before finding his feet.
Dutch defender Ake, who joined City from Bournemouth for £40million in the summer of 2020, said of Guardiola: “He’s been fantastic for me personally.
“The first season was tough, but in the second and now the third, I feel I’ve developed in every game, both on and off the ball and what he wants me to do tactically.”
