Sadio Mane has been included in Senegal’s squad for the Qatar 2022 World Cup despite a big injury scare.
The Bayern Munich forward was reportedly ruled out of the tournament, which kicks off in nine days, after getting injured in the first half of his club’s 6-1 victory over Werder Bremen on Tuesday night.
The German Bundesliga champions said Mane had an injury “to the head of his right fibula” and will miss Saturday’s game against Schalke.
Senegal will begin their Group A campaign against the Netherlands on November 21 before facing Qatar and Ecuador.
“We are monitoring the situation and have sent one of our doctors to assess him,” Senegal head coach Alioy Cisse said at a press conference in Dakar today.
“On Thursday, Sadio spent the whole day in Munich before travelling to Austria for further tests. The good news is that he does not need an operation.
“We want the situation to evolve in two, three weeks. I don’t want to rule him out.”
Mane, 30, is one of Senegal’s most important players, scoring the winning penalty when the Teranga Lions won their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title in February with a penalty shootout victory over Egypt.
The former Liverpool star is also his country’s record goalscorer with 34 goals in 93 appearances, and Senegal will do anything to have him fit for the World Cup.
Other players named in the squad today include Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, Watford forward Ismaila Sarr, Nicolas Jackson of Villarreal and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
SENEGAL SQUAD
Goalkeepers:
Seny Dieng (Queens Park Rangers), Alfred Gomis (Rennes), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea).
Defenders:
Fode Ballo-Toure (AC Milan), Pape Abdou Cisse (Olympiakos), Abdou Diallo (RB Leipzig), Ismail Jakobs (Monaco), Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), Formose Mendy (Amiens), Youssouf Sabaly (Real Betis).
Midfielders:
Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Krepin Diatta (Monaco), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Pape Gueye (Marseille), Cheikhou Kouyate (Nottingham Forest), Mamadou Loum Ndiaye (Reading), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City), Moustapha Name (Pafos), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards:
Boulaye Dia (Salernitana), Famara Diedhiou (Alanyaspor), Bamba Dieng (Marseille), Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal), Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich), Iliman Ndiaye (Sheffield United), Ismaila Sarr (Watford).
