Senegal forward Sadio Mane has been ruled out of the World Cup due to the leg injury he sustained while playing for Bayern Munich last week.
The 30-year-old was forced off after just 20 minutes of Bayern's penultimate Bundesliga match before the winter break last Tuesday, placing his participation in the tournament in doubt.
The winger was initially named in the Senegal squad for the trip to Qatar, with a spokesperson for the team later revealing that Mane would miss the "first games" in Group A.
However, it has now been confirmed that the 2022 Ballon d'Or runner-up will play no part in the tournament after scans on his leg injury revealed that the issue is more serious than first hoped.
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The news sees Senegal stripped of their star player at the World Cup, with Mane having already scored the winning penalty in shootouts to win the country its first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title and to secure qualification for the World Cup this year.
The former Liverpool man is Senegal's leading scorer of all time with 34 international goals, while he is one of only three players to have won more than 90 caps for the Lions of Teranga.
Aliou Cisse's side open their campaign against Netherlands on November 21, before also facing hosts Qatar and Ecuador in Group A.
Barney Corkhill
