Sadio Mane suffered a knee injury during Bayern Munich's 6-1 demolition of Werder Bremen on Tuesday night, and now reports are emerging that he will miss World Cup 2022 because of the knock he sustained.
Mane went down injured 20 minutes into the match due to an innocuous-looking challenge, and was subsequently substituted for Leroy Sane. Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann said that Mane would have an X-ray to determine the extent of the injury, after initially believing that the injury was related to his tibia.
"He took a knock to the head of his tibia," Nagelsmann said after the match. "It's always uncomfortable. He has to have an X-ray. I hope nothing is wrong.
"I didn't see him after the game, I hope it's not a big injury. But I don't know at the moment. We'll see tomorrow and then give an update."
However, French outlet L'Equipe is reporting that the Senegalese forward suffered a tendon injury rather than a knock to his tibia. L'Equipe is also suggesting Mane will not recover from the injury in time to make Senegal's first World Cup fixture of the tournament, on Monday November 21 against the Netherlands.
L'Equipe stated Mane is "expected to miss several weeks of competition", a heartbreaking revelation for the African nation.
Senegal will face hosts Qatar, Ecuador and the Netherlands in Group A at World Cup 2022, but they might have to do so without their captain and talismanic figure in Mane. The former Liverpool player won the African Cup of Nations at the start of this year, before helping his nation beat Egypt in a World Cup play-off fixture for the finals.
Senegal manager Aliou Cisse is due to announce his Senegal World Cup squad on Friday, but he might have to do so without his star man.
At the 2018 World Cup, Mane scored against Japan in a 2-2 draw during the group stage, starting all three matches. Senegal were unlucky to be eliminated from the tournament, finishing third to second-placed Japan on fair play points.
