Senegal is facing a tough blow just 11 days before the World Cup. Striker Sadio Mane had to be substituted in the 20th minute of the match between Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen and could miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, according to French media outlet L’Equipe.
The Senegal star is suffering from a hamstring injury and is expected to be out for a number of weeks.
His absence would be a huge blow for coach Aliou Cisse, who would be forced to modify a list of players he had practically finalized before traveling to Qatar.
November 14 is the deadline for the 32 national teams to send their call-ups to FIFA.
So far, neither Bayern nor the Senegalese national team have made Mane‘s injury or his withdrawal from the World Cup official.
“He received a blow to the top of the shin. This is an uncomfortable place. It needs to be X-rayed to clarify,” were the words of coach Julian Nagelsmann at the post-match press conference.
Senegal will open their World Cup campaign on November 21, taking on the Netherlands in Group A, which is completed by Ecuador and hosts Qatar.
The 30-year-old captain, scorer of the penalty to defeat Egypt in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, stopped running after feeling physical discomfort in his right knee and went to the ground for three minutes to be attended to by the team’s medical staff.
Mane‘s pain and concern suggested the worst… and he was immediately replaced by Leroy Sane.
