Crushing Blow for Senegal As Sadio Mane Is Officially Ruled Out of 2022 World Cup

• It is confirmed Sadio Mane will no longer play a part of Senegal’s 2022 World Cup participation in Qatar
• The forward limped off after only 20 minutes during Bayern Munich’s game against Werder Bremen
• Senegal will play against the Netherlands at the World Cup on November 21, and then face Qatar on the 25th

The Senegal Football Federation have officially announced that Sadio Mané will miss the 2022 World Cup due to injury.

The 30-year-old was hurt during Bayern Munich's penultimate match before the winter break.

However, coach Aliou Cisse named Mane in his 26-man squad, in the hope that he would recover in time to play some part of the team's efforts in Qatar.

Mane was reportedly still in Munich recovering from the right fibula injury, while Senegal prepare in Austria for their opening match of the World Cup.

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But in a statement released by the Senegal Football Federation on Thursday, cited by Fabrizio Romano, the former Liverpool superstar has been withdrawn from the Teranga Lions roster and won't play a part in this year's World Cup.

Senegal will get their World Cup underway on Monday when they take on the Netherlands, before also taking on hosts Qatar and then Ecuador.

Mane's fitness has been a major cause of concern for Senegal, who claimed their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in February.

He finished second in this year's Ballon d'Or voting behind Karim Benzema, and scored the winning penalty in a dramatic shootout victory against Egypt in Cameroon.

Mane repeated the feat again against the same opponents to qualify the Lions of Teranga for the World Cup, which starts on Sunday.

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VVD sends message to Mane

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Virgil Van Dijk has expressed his dismay regarding his former Liverpool teammate Mane, who was set to miss Senegal’s opening World Cup game against the Netherlands next week.

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

Van Dijk, who will captain the Netherlands, 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.