By Boris Esono Nwenfor
With more than a week to go for the FIFA Qatar World Cup, Senegal will be praying that their key striker Sadio Mane comes out unscathed after the player was substituted in the 20th minute on November 8 as Bayern Munich defeated Werder Bremen 6-1.
The forward hurt his tibia, head coach Julien Nagelsmann later confirmed and was surrounded by teammates as he sat on the field in pain. Further medical examinations, starting with the X-ray, will be conducted in the coming days.
“He’ll have to have an X-ray to see what’s happened,” said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann. “He took a blow to his tibial plateau [the head of the shin]. It’s a painful spot.”
Bayern, meanwhile, cruised to victory with Serge Gnabry scoring a hat-trick. The score line could have been worse if only Cameroon international Eric Maxim Choupo Moting had scored his penalty kick.
Since making the move from Liverpool to Bayern this season, Sadio Mane has scored six goals in 14 appearances in the league for the club. In 23 appearances in all competitions, he has found the back of the net 11 times, three in the UEFA Champions League.
Despite concern over the two-time African Footballer of the Year, Bayern’s assistant coach Dino Toppmoller later played down the possible extent of the injury. He said: “[It’s] nothing too serious and his participation in the World Cup should not be in jeopardy.”
The injury scare has not gone down well with many Senegalese supporters. “Sadio Mane has just gone off injured for Bayern! Dakar will not sleep tonight,” Rahman Osman tweeted. Carl Anka meantime tweeted: “Sadio Mane injured? Postpone the World Cup.”
Sadio Mane is a key player for African champions Senegal, who face the Dutch in their opening Group A game on November 21 before taking on host Qatar, and then Ecuador.
