(Reuters) – Senegal forward Sadio Mane will miss the “first games” of the World Cup in Qatar due to injury, a Senegal soccer federation official was quoted as saying by local media on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old striker was named last week in Senegal’s 26-man squad for the World Cup, which starts on Sunday, despite picking up an injury to his right fibula playing for Bayern Munich in the run-up to the tournament.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said Mane, whose decisive penalties secured the Africa Cup of Nations title and World Cup qualification for his country this year, did not require surgery but hopes of him lining up against the Netherlands on Nov. 21 appear slim.
“We will have to rely on playing the first games without Sadio and win without Sadio because we have 25 players apart from Sadio,” official Abdoulaye Sow said.
“No one would have wanted it, but that’s what’s happened to us.”
Senegal also face hosts Qatar on Nov. 25 and Ecuador on Nov. 29 in World Cup Group A.
(Reporting by Peter Hall, editing by Ed Osmond)
