Senegal national team manager Aliou Cisse admits that 'the whole football family is saddened' to see Sadio Mane miss out on the World Cup through injury.
The former Liverpool forward picked up a tendon injury while playing for Bayern Munich at the start of November, but his inclusion in the Lions of Teranga 26-man squad offered hope that he would, at least, be fit for some of the group stage matches. But on Thursday, Senegal's football federation revealed their talisman would miss the entirety of the tournament after an MRI scan concluded that surgery was needed.
And speaking ahead of his side's opening game against the Netherlands on Monday, Cisse detailed how he has received several phone calls about Mane adding that the whole of the football is saddened to hear that 'the second best player in the world' won't be able to play at the World Cup.
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"Obviously it is a great shame for Sadio Mane, and a shame for the national team, but we need to think about the health and safety of the player," Cisse told the media. "Obviously it is a great challenge for us. All coaches build their team around their best player.
"We have a strong team of young players who are ready to rise to the challenge. It is never easy to play without Sadio, but I think all our players are ready to rise to the challenge.
"Of course we're not just talking about the Senegalese people, people all over the world, the whole football family is saddened by what happened to Sadio. He is the second best player in the world.
"In the last few weeks I've received many calls from people who are sad about what happened to Sadio."
Mane was set to face an old Liverpool team-mate on Monday, when Senegal take on Virgil van Dijk's Netherlands. And the Dutch captain admitted earlier this week that he 'will miss' his friend on the pitch, admitting that the best tournament deserves to host the best players.
"I am very sorry that Sadio misses the match against us because this World Cup simply deserves the best players," Liverpool defender van Dijk admitted. "Sadio is one of them. Sadio is world class, he is my friend and I will miss him."
Mane is one of several world-class talents who will be missing from the tournament through injury. Saturday evening saw confirmation that Karim Benzema - the man who pipped Mane to the Ballon D'Or in October - has also been ruled out with a thigh strain, while the likes of Reece James, Paul Pogba, Christopher Nkunku and Liverpool's own Diogo Jota are also sidelined.
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