Bayern Munich attacker Sadio Mane has been ruled out of Senegal's "first games" at the 2022 World Cup due to a leg injury, according to a spokesperson from the country's football federation.
The 30-year-old emerged as a major doubt for the tournament in Qatar after he sustained an injury to his right fibula just 20 minutes into Bayern's 6-1 Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen last Tuesday.
However, Mane has been included in Senegal's 26-man squad and head coach Aliou Cisse stated last weekend that the attacker is being monitored ahead of their trip to the Middle East.
"We are monitoring the situation around Sadio. We sent a doctor from the FA to him two days ago," Cisse told reporters via BBC Sport.
"Yesterday he spent the whole day at Munich and then he travelled to Austria for further exams. The good news: he won't need an operation.
"We are hoping the situation to evolve in two to three weeks. We will do our best to have him back. I don't want to rule him out."
Senegal football federation board member Abdoulaye Sow has since revealed that the African nation will have to cope without star man Mane for the "first games" in Qatar.
Speaking to AP as quoted by BBC Sport, Sow said, "We will have to rely on playing the first games without Sadio and win without Sadio.
"No-one would have wanted it, but that's what's happened to us."
Senegal are scheduled to begin their group-stage campaign against Netherlands next Monday, before facing hosts Qatar on November 25 and then Ecuador on November 29.
Should Mane miss all three group fixtures, the attacker could be in a position to return for a last-16 tie on either December 3 or December 4 if Senegal advance from Group A.
Mane, a two-time African Footballer of the Year who participated at the 2018 World Cup, is an influential figure for Senegal and has recorded 33 goals and 20 assists in 93 international appearances.
The former Liverpool attacker was one of Senegal's standout performers on their way to lifting the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in February this year, the country's first triumph at a major tournament.
The absence of Mane early doors could see Watford's Ismaila Sarr handed a start in the front three alongside Monaco's Krepin Diatta and Salernitana's Boulaye Dia. body check tags ::
