DOHA: Senegal star Sadio Mane has been ruled out of FIFA World Cup 2022 after a knee injury he sustained in a Bayern Munich match last week. 

The Bayern forward was diagnosed with an injury to his right fibula after he limped off during a Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen, 13 days before his national team’s Qatar campaign.

Mane will miss out on the World Cup since he has not recovered in time before the megaevent, confirmed Senegal’s team doctor on Thursday

“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 posted on the official Senegal Twitter account. He added that surgical intervention was needed.

The former Liverpool forward’s phenomenal run this year earned him the runners-up spot in the 2022 Ballon d’Or – bagged by Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.

Mane, 30, was named African Player of the Year as he was voted ahead of ex-teammate Mohamed Salah and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Senegal will face host Qatar four days after its opening game against the Netherlands. Its final game in Group A is against Ecuador on November 29.

The absence of its talisman will be a fatal blow for Senegal, as Mane inspired his national side to the African Cup of Nations title at the start of 2022, scoring the winning penalty in a shoot-out with Egypt.

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