Senegal forward Sadio Mané ruled out of World Cup with leg injury

Senegal forward Sadio Mané will miss the World Cup because of a leg injury, the Senegalese soccer federation said Thursday.

Mané was injured in a German league game between Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen on Nov. 8.

“Unfortunately, today’s MRI shows us that the progress was not as favorable as we had hoped,” team doctor Manuel Afonso said Thursday. “The result is unfortunately us withdrawing Sadio from the World Cup.”

The Senegalese star might also need surgery, Afonso said.

Most of Senegal’s squad arrived in Qatar for the World Cup on Sunday. The team’s first game in Qatar is against the Netherlands on Monday.

Senegal, the reigning African champion, had hoped that Mané could return at some point during the tournament.

Senegal plays host Qatar four days after it faces the Netherlands. Its final game in Group A is against Ecuador on Nov. 29.

Mané was injured early in the Bayern game. The Bundesliga club said the two-time African player of the year had an injury to the head of the fibula bone in his lower right leg.

Reporting by The Associated Press.