Sadio Mane has been ruled out for the entirety of the World Cup after news he will require surgery on a knee injury he sustained playing for Bayern Munich.
The former Liverpool player came off just 20 minutes into Bayern's 6-1 win against Werder Bremen at the start of the month complaining of pain around his right fibula and casting his role in Senegal's campaign into doubt.
The national team's manager, Aliou Cisse, decided to include Mane in his 26-man squad despite the injury.
READ MORE: Liverpool midfielder signs new long-term contract as transfer strategy underlined
On Tuesday, Senegal's football federation said that their talisman would miss the 'first games' in Qatar, but a further MRI scan on Thursday concluded that surgery was needed, thus ruling the 30-year-old out for the entire tournament.
In a brief statement, they said: "The FSF wishes a speedy recovery to its player Sadio Mane, package for the World Cup."
Senegal, who are in Group A alongside the Netherlands, Qatar and Ecuador, bare much responsibility onto Mane's shoulders. The ex-Reds winger knocked out Mohamed Salah's Egypt in the final qualifier just months after beating the Egyptian initially in the final African Cup of Nations final.
Mane is the latest star to fall victim to the unusual timing of the World Cup, with the likes of Reece James, Diogo Jota and Paul Pogba all missing out through injury.
READ NEXT
