Sadio Mane will miss Senegal’s “first games” at the World Cup with a leg injury, an official from the country’s football federation has said.
The Bayern Munich forward was included in the Tricolor Lions squad for Qatar despite being forced off in a club match last week.
The German champions said the 30-year-old suffered a “right fibula” injury, but Senegal coach Aliou Cess said Mane did not require an operation.
The West Africans open their Group A campaign against the Netherlands on Monday, followed by games against hosts Qatar (November 25) and Ecuador (November 29).
“We will have to rely on playing the first game without Sadio and winning without Sadio,” Senegal Football Federation (FSF) board member Abdoulaye Sou told the AP.
“No one wanted this to happen, but this is what happened to us.”
Sue added that Senegal should “not cry too much” about the absence of the two-time African Footballer of the Year.
Mane is Senegal’s talisman, having scored the winning penalty as the Tricolor Lions became continental champions for the first time in February, beating Egypt in a shootout in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Within two months Mane 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.
