Senegal forward Sadio Mane has undergone surgery on a knee injury while playing for Bayern Munich and will miss the World Cup.
On Tuesday, Senegal’s football federation said Mane, 30, would miss his “first game” at the tournament.
But a further MRI scan was completed on Thursday which showed that surgical intervention was required.
Mane was forced off during Bayern’s Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen on 8 November.
Bayern confirmed the player’s “successful surgery” on Thursday, which saw the tendon attached to the head of his right fibula.
“The forward will begin his rehabilitation in Munich in the next few days,” the club added.
Senegal open their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on Monday. The West African team is in Group A, followed by hosts Qatar (November 25) and Ecuador (November 29).
Two-time African Footballer of the Year Mane is Senegal’s talisman, scoring the winning penalty when the Tricolor Lions became continental champions for the first time in February, beating Egypt in a shootout in the Africa Cup of Nations final. was
Within two months Mane had repeated the feat, netting the decisive spot-kick as Senegal beat Egypt – in a game that again pitted him against Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah – to qualify for Qatar. on penalties in the playoffs for
Analysis
It will be heartbreaking for Mane after a year when everything was going like a dream for him at the international level.
His performance in helping Senegal win the Cup of Nations and qualify for the World Cup, combined with his displays against Liverpool in the first half of the year, saw the Bayern Munich forward voted second for the Ballon d’Or award. I got help.
Only an inspired Karim Benzema prevented him from becoming the first African player to win the honor since George Weah. But the best was yet to come. Mane was hoping to emulate Senegal’s national class of 2002 and help them reach at least the quarter-finals in Qatar.
Now, without his talisman, it will be extremely difficult for Senegal to make an impression here in Qatar. They have other quality players like Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ismaila Sir but Mane is their inspiration and game changer. Sad moment for Mane and all of Senegal.
