Sadio Mane will miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury, Bayern Munich and the Senegalese Football Federation have announced.
Bayern said the 30-year-old Mané had an operation in Innsbruck, Austria late Thursday to reattach a tendon to the head of his right fibula bone, treating an injury he sustained playing for Bayern in a German league game against Werder Bremen on Nov. 8.
“Unfortunately, today’s [Thursday] MRI shows us that the improvement is not as favourable as we imagined and unfortunately, we have to withdraw Sadio from the World Cup,” said Manuel Afonso in a video on the official Senegal Twitter account on Thursday. He added that surgery will have to be done soon.
“The FC Bayern forward will therefore no longer be available to play for Senegal at the World Cup and will begin his rehab in Munich in the next few days,” Bayern said.
Most of Senegal’s squad arrived in Qatar for the World Cup on Sunday. The team’s first game in Qatar is against the Netherlands on Monday.
Senegal, the reigning African champion, had hoped that Mané, a two-time African player of the year, could return at some point during the tournament.
Senegal plays host Qatar four days after it faces the Netherlands. Its final game in Group A is against Ecuador on November 29.
Senegal won its first major title at the African Cup in February, when Mané scored the winning penalty in a shootout to beat Egypt in the final. Mané also scored the winning penalty in a playoff that sealed a place for Senegal in Qatar.
