Senegalese captain Sadio Mane ruled out of the world cup squad.

In a statement officially made public on Thursday 17, 2022, Sadio Mane will not be participating at the World Cup with the Senegalese team, after being unable to 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.

“We all knew from the moment it happened, but Bayern's communication team wanted to drive the bitter pill down our throat in bits. First they played down the gravity of the injury. Secondly they said let's wait for the medical team to evaluate. Thirdly, they said "we are in touch with the Senegalese Team doctors". Fourth, Mané would miss the first games of the World Cup. And now....Sad”, lamented a fan in a facebook comment.

“This will be heart breaking for Mane after a year when everything was going like a dream for him at international level.

His performances in helping Senegal win the Cup of Nations and qualify for the World Cup, combined with his displays in the first half of the year with Liverpool, helped the Bayern Munich forward to be voted in second place for the Ballon d'Or award.

Only an inspired Karim Benzema stopped him becoming the first African player since George Weah to win that accolade. But the best was yet to come; Mane was hoping to help Senegal to emulate the nation's class of 2002 and make it to at least the quarter-finals in Qatar.

Now, without their talisman, it's going to be extremely difficult for Senegal to make an impression here in Qatar. They have other quality players such as Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ismaila Sarr but Mane is their inspiration and game-changer. A sad moment for Mane and for the whole of Senegal”.John Bennett, BBC World Service in Doha on BBC sports.