Senegal forward Sadio Mane will miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after suffering an injury on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
According to the PUNCH, the Bayern attacker was taken off after only 20 minutes of the game against Werder Bremen, which ended 6-1 in favor of the Bundesliga champions.
Senegal’s World Cup campaign is set to begin in 13 days against the Netherlands at the Al Thumama Stadium, but they will be without their talisman.
Mane led the Teranga Lions to their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations trophy after defeating then-teammate Mohammed Salah’s Egypt 4-2 on penalties in Cameroon.
Senegal’s leading goal scorer with 34 goals, the former Liverpool player was also instrumental in his country’s qualification, which included a penalty shootout win over Egypt for the second time this year.
Mane is the latest high-profile player to sustain an injury ahead of the World Cup in Qatar. Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante (France), Timo Werner (Germany), Diogo Jota (Portugal), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands), and Ben Chilwell are among the players (England).
Concerns about players’ fitness have been raised, as many leagues around the world continue to play despite some of the players participating in the tournament.
Mane’s injury is said to be tendon-related and will keep him out for several weeks, according to L’équipe.
Aliou Cissé, Senegal’s coach and former international, is expected to announce his squad for the Qatar tournament on Friday.
The Teranga Lions are in Group A with Qatar and Ecuador.
