Official: Senegal announce 26-man FIFA World Cup squad with injury doubt Sadio Mane included
Despite Sadio Mane’s injury, Senegal have included him to their 26-man roster for the 2017 FIFA World Cup.
The former Liverpool forward recently sustained a leg injury in the run-up to the competition, casting doubt on his participation. Mane is the national team’s talisman. He was instrumental in their qualifying and scored the game-winning penalty in their AFCON final triumph against Egypt.
Mane finished second in the Ballon d’Or race this year after assisting Liverpool to the Champions League final, and he has been one of the world’s top attackers for several years.
Since joining Bayern Munich in the summer, the attacker has had a mixed bag of results, scoring 11 goals and giving four assists in 23 games.
Kalidou Koulibaly has been chosen in the Senegal team despite his terrible start at Premier League giants Chelsea. The defender will captain his country at the tournament but has not appeared in any of the Blues’ three most recent Premier League games.
Edouard Mendy, Koulibaly’s Chelsea partner, has similarly lost form and his status as the Blues’ number one goalkeeper. Other Premier League players named in the team include Idrissa Gana Gueye, Cheikhou Kouyate, and Nampalys Mendy.
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Senegal will use ‘witch doctors’ to help Sadio Mane be fit for upcoming FIFA World Cup
The African champions are willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure their star player is fit for the FIFA World Cup. Fatma Samoura, the first female secretary general of FIFA, has stated that Senegal is willing to use unconventional methods to assist Mane.
“We are going to use witch doctors. I don’t know (if they’re effective) but in this instance, we’re going to use them anyway. We are hoping for miracles. He has to be there!”
Mane suffered a fibula injury during Bayern’s 6-1 victory over Werder Bremen on Tuesday, 8 November.
The Bundesliga champions have since released a statement that confirmed that the former Liverpool superstar would miss their upcoming clash with Schalke. This news cast serious doubts about whether he will be fit for FIFA World Cup.
