African footballers. Sadio Mane named part of Senegal squad. Despite picking up an injury after a Bayern Munich game last week, Sadio Mane has been named in Senegal’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
Mane suffered a right fibula injury in Bayern’s 6-1 win over Werder Bremen, and will miss Bayerns’s final game against Schalke before the World Cup. Nevertheless coach Aliou Cisse included the team’s talisman when he named his 26-man squad at a news conference in Dakar on Friday, saying he was confident Mane could recover in time to play at the tournament.
According to the Senegalese federation’s doctor sent to examine Mane, he does not require any surgery and needs about a week to recover from the injury.
“That’s very good news and we now have the chance to try and get him fit for the tournament. We now have two weeks to observe and see how the injury reacts to treatment,” Cisse said. “I prefer to keep him in the squad because he is such an important part of us.”
However, it is unclear whether Mane will be available for Senegal’s opening World Cup contest against the Netherlands on November 21. The African giants are in Group A together with Netherlands, Ecuador, and the host country, Qatar.
Mane recently received the inaugural Sócrates award in recognition of his charity work in his native Senegal. We wrote about it here: Senegalese footballer Sadio Mane wins the new Socrates Award for charity work
This is Senegal’s 26-man squad going to the World Cup
Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Seny Dieng (QPR), Alfred Gomis (Rennes).
Defenders: Youssouf Sabaly (Real Betis), Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), Abdou Diallo (RB Leipzig), Pape Abou Cisse (Olympiacos), Formose Mendy (Amiens), Fode Ballo-Toure (AC Milan), Ismail Jakobs (Monaco).
Midfielders: Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Cheikhou Kouyate (Nottingham Forest), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester), Pape Gueye (Marseille), Pape Sarr (Tottenham), Moustapha Name (Pafos), Mamadou Loum (Reading), Krepin Diatta (Monaco).
Forwards: Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich), Ismaila Sarr (Watford), Bamba Dieng (Marseille), Boulaye Dia (Salernitana), Famara Diedhiou (Alanyaspor), Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal), Iliman Ndiaye (Sheffield United).
Read also: List of top 5 goal scorers of African descent at the World Cup tournaments
Source: ESPN