Senegal forward Mané ruled out of World Cup with leg injury

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1of5FILE- Senegal’s Sadio Mane gestures prior to the start of the African Cup of Nations 2022 final soccer match between Senegal and Egypt at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Feb. 6, 2022.Themba Hadebe/APShow MoreShow Less 2of5FILE – Senegal’s Sadio Mane tries to shoot during a qualifying soccer match against Egypt, for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Cairo International stadium in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, March 25, 2022. Sadio Mané was included in Senegal’s World Cup squad on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, just three days after a lower right leg injury put the star player’s participation in doubt.Amr Nabil/APShow MoreShow Less 3of5 4of5Munich’s Sadio Mane, left, and Milan’s Nicolo Barella fight for the ball during the Champions League Group C soccer match between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan at Allianz Arena stadium in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)Sven Hoppe/APShow MoreShow Less 5of5

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — 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.

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 but announced Thursday that it’s not possible.

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.

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