Senegal have confirmed that Sadio Mane is set to miss the World Cup as he requires surgery for the leg injury the Bayern Munich striker sustained earlier this month.
The former Liverpool star, who moved to Munich in the summer, injured his leg in Bayern's 6-1 win over Werder Bremen on November 8 but was still included in Senegal's squad for the tournament in the hope he would be able to play some part in Qatar.
However, Mane has now been officially ruled out by Senegal, who will look to build on their Africa Cup of Nations success without their talisman, who was influential in their triumph earlier this year..
Mane is the latest high-profile name to be ruled out of the tournament, which is the first ever winter World Cup. Various other stars such as Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante and Mane's ex-Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota have also been ruled out of the showpiece event due to injury.
Bayern had released a statement after Mane had sustained the injury following speculation that the 30-year-old would not be fit for the World Cup. The statement read: "Sadio Mane has suffered an injury to the head of his right fibula in FC Bayern’s 6-1 win against Werder Bremen. Africa’s Footballer of the Year will miss Saturday’s game against Schalke.
Join the debate! How do you think Senegal will fare without Mane in the World Cup? Let us know here.
“Further examinations will follow in the coming days. FC Bayern is also in contact with the medical staff of the Senegalese Football Association.”
Mane is one of Senegal's most important players and has plundered 34 goals in 94 caps for his country - including four in the AFCON tournament as he came on on top against his former Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah and Egypt in a tense final shootout.
Senegal boss Aliou Cisse had been optimistic that Mane would be able to play some part in the tournament. And although Cisse had insisted that surgery was not needed to solve the problem, a further scan on Thursday revealed that Mane will need to undergo an operation to solve the issue.
Speaking earlier this month, Cisse said: "We are monitoring the situation and we sent a doctor from the federation.
"On Thursday, Sadio spent the whole day in Munich before travelling to Austria for further tests. The good news is that he does not need an operation.
"It is important to continue to monitor his injury and hope that in two or three weeks there is a change. We will give everything to have Sadio back."
