Virgil Van Dijk Sends Message to Injured Sadio Mane as Netherlands Prepares to Take on Senegal

1. Vigil Van Dijk has admitted he feels sorry for his former teammate Sadio Mane
2. Mane could miss Senegal’s World Cup opener through injury despite being included in his nation’s squad
3. The forward limped off after only 20 minutes during Bayern Munich’s game against Werder Bremen
4. Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann has since described the injury as a 'knock to the head of his tibia'

Virgil Van Dijk has expressed his dismay regarding his former teammate Sadio Mane, who looks set to miss Senegal’s opening World Cup game against the Netherlands next week.

Mane is in a rat race against time to be fit in time to help his nation in the global tournament, though he is almost certain to miss the opener on Monday, November 21.

The Dutch team has already arrived in Qatar, and in one of Van Dijk’s first sentiments, the Liverpool defender sympathized with Mane’s situation.

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Van Dijk, who will captain the Netherlands national team, said he had spoken to Mane prior to the two nations’ clash and was certain the game would be a difficult one despite the absence of the star forward.

“It’s going to be tough if he plays or not,” said Van Dijk as quoted on Daily Mail.

“I don't think he will play, but Senegal have a fantastic team.”

“I’m not happy in this case and I’ve been in that situation where I missed the Euros. We as players work so hard to get to this stage and he has been such an important figure for his country.”

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Van Dijk also noted that Mane was likely to put on a brave face for his nation, but the injury was likely to weigh him down mentally.

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As reported on Sky Sports, at the start of the year, there was a similar incident where Mane had a serious conflict of interest on whether to soldier on for his country or take a rest after suffering a head injury during the Africa Cup of Nations.

Mane at the time, clashed with Cape Verde keeper Vozinha and somehow made his way back onto the pitch to score despite suffering what looked like a worrying head injury.

Senegal is in the same group as the Netherlands, hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

Brazil tipped to win World Cup

Sports Brief also reported on how Brazil was found to be the nation most likely to win the World Cup, according to data and analytics from a supercomputer.

The last time Brazil won the World Cup was in 2002 when the legendary Ronaldo Nazario was still active.

Data from an artificial intelligence World Cup prediction model Opta puts Seleção ahead of any other nation in terms of the heavy hitters in the global spectacle in Qatar.