Sadio Mane will miss the opening game of Senegal’s World Cup group stage, according to the country’s FA vice president Abdoulaye Sow.
The 30-year-old former Liverpool striker was playing for his new side Bayern Munich in the penultimate round of games before the Bundesliga broke up ahead of the 2022 World Cup, to be held in Qatar.
However, after 20 minutes the striker had to be substituted against Werder Bremen, with his team still able to go on to win 6-1.
Concerns were already raised ahead of Bayern’s final game before the break, which they won 2-0, as Mane was not part of the matchday squad due to the injury.
Senegal play their first group game when they face the Netherlands on 21 November, the second day of the World Cup.
Sow believes that Senegal will have to make do without Mane, though he remains confident the team can succeed in Qatar.
Mane’s club coach at Bayern, Julian Nagelsmann, has said that further checks will be done on the player to ascertain if he can travel to the upcoming tournament, and to get a better picture of the prognosis.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse has been hoping that Mane would only be out of action for around 10 days, which could leave him fit for the two remaining group games.
After their first Group A match, they then play hosts Qatar on November 25, and then Ecuador four days later.
