The expectation was that Sadio Mané would miss some time for Senegal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, the word is official that the Senegalese superstar will miss the entire tournament due to a leg injury.
Sadio Mané will miss the World Cup due to injury, Senegal announced. pic.twitter.com/EOJS6txFm9
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 17, 2022
Mané, who played professionally for Bayern Munich, sustained an injury in their recent Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen. The African Cup of Nations winner, who won six of eight matches in World Cup qualifiers, was hoping for this year’s event in Qatar would be their best finish since 2002 when they made it to the quarterfinals. However, without Mané, the odds are against them being able to do so.
Mané finished second in this year’s Ballon d’Or voting. The 30-year-old forward has 34 goals in 93 caps for his country and is a two-time African player of the year, making this loss feel especially painful for Senegal fans and soccer fans around the world. Despite the best efforts of medical doctors as well as local witch doctors, the injury that affected him remains.
There were lots of strong reactions to the news, including some who blamed the fact that the World Cup schedule was moved to take place in the middle of the club season.
Having a World Cup in the middle of the club football season was a poor choice. https://t.co/pcJhBOwtUF
— Dan Riccio (@danriccio_) November 17, 2022
The worst decision FIFA made was hosting a WC during mid-season. Now look 🥲 https://t.co/AfTccL4D7E
— Shazi (@NkosinathiShazi) November 17, 2022
sadness 🙁 https://t.co/QmIeXRQNm8
— Vivek Jacob (@vivekmjacob) November 17, 2022
Big L for witch doctors everywhere.
(Seriously though, this is a bummer) https://t.co/5MAaILdRPB
— Trey Mongrue (@TreyMongrue) November 17, 2022
Ugh, that's a bummer https://t.co/4TrY9jgy7y
— Connor Wilton (@ConnorJayWilton) November 17, 2022
Senegal, which is part of Group A, will take on the Netherlands on Nov. 21, Qatar on Nov. 25, and Ecuador on Nov. 29.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.