Senegal will not have the services of talismanic deputy skipper Sadio Mane for their World Cup campaign.
It emerged on Thursday, November 17, 2022 that Mane has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
His club side, Bayern Munich, confirmed in a statement that the had undergone surgery with the Senegal football body confirming his unavailability because he cannot recover from injury in time.
Mane suffered a leg injury in Bayern Munich's 6-1 win over Werder Bremen earlier this month, which put into doubt his hopes of competing at the tournament.
Mane trended on social media minutes after the official announcement was made. Shock, sorry and sad, were some of the choice adjectives that people used to describe how it felt knowing that the Senegalese will miss the Mundial which starts over the weekend.
All about Group A - credit from NBS sports
Group A in the 2022 World Cup will be intriguing, as hosts Qatar are joined by African champs Senegal, plus the Netherlands and Ecuador.
This really is a wide-open group and the host nation (who are huge outsiders) will be thinking they have a chance of reaching the knockout rounds if things go their way and the home fans inspire them.
But there’s no doubting that the Netherlands and Senegal are the favorites to advance as Virgil van Dijk will lead the Dutch as they look to make up for missing the 2018 tournament, while Senegal are led by Sadio Mane as they aim to better their best-ever finish of reaching the quarterfinals in 2002.
Read some social media reactions below:
Group A schedule (all kick off times ET)
November, 20: Qatar vs Ecuador – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor – 11am
November, 21: Senegal vs Netherlands – Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor – 5am
November, 25: Qatar vs Senegal – Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor – 8am
November, 25: Netherlands vs Ecuador – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan – 11am
November, 29: Netherlands vs Qatar – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor – 10am
November, 29: Ecuador vs Senegal – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan – 10am
Sadio Mane