Sadio Mané sat on the pitch, but perhaps his most momentous moment of the football year went almost unnoticed. Attention was focused on other protagonists in the early stages of Bayern’s 6-1 win over Werder Bremen: Serge Gnabry was fouled in the penalty area, referee Robert Hartmann checked the scene and awarded a penalty, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting missed.
Only then did the eyes turn to Mané, as he pointed to the right lower leg, the result of a seemingly harmless duel. He was substituted, the socks rolled down. After talking to the team doctor, he headed towards the dressing room.
That many pairs of eyes are on Mané, that was the big plan of the pompously staged signing of the highly talented attacker and two-time African footballer of the year. He has not always lived up to expectations in Munich but has been in better form lately after being allowed to switch back to his favorite position on the left wing from up front. Eleven goals, four assists, a few ball wins in pressing, that’s his record.
But now his first six months at Bayern Munich since the transfer from Liverpool FC are apparently coming to an end in a dramatic way for him: the French sports newspaper first reported on Wednesday L’Equipe, that the Senegalese international will miss the World Cup in Qatar. Due to a tendon injury he had to pause for several weeks. FC Bayern did not want to commit themselves in the afternoon. In the official announcement it was said that Mané had suffered an injury to his right fibula head and would be out for the game against Schalke on Saturday. Further investigations would follow, one is in contact with the Senegalese association.
Mané, 30, won the Champions League and the English championship with Liverpool, but he called another title “the most important trophy of my life”: winning the Africa Cup of Nations last February. Senegal, losers in the 2019 final, beat Egypt on penalties. Mané converted the decisive attempt to 4:2. The images of the team’s triumphant reception in the capital, Dakar, went around the world. Just about a month later, the same duel took place again, in the playoff for World Cup qualification. Again it came to penalties. Again Mané scored as the decisive shooter.
The history helps to understand the importance of the national team for Mané. When national coach Aliou Cissé announces the Senegalese World Cup squad on Friday, the captain and most important player could be missing. After the two Frenchmen N’Golo Kanté and Paul Pogba, Mané would probably be the most prominent World Cup failure.
In 2018, in his only World Cup participation so far, Mané was also captain, Senegal was eliminated in the group stage. This time, with the Netherlands, Qatar and Ecuador as opponents, the round of 16 doesn’t seem impossible.
That the risk is high for every footballer these days, probably higher than ever for players in Europe because of the unfamiliar World Cup date, missing the season highlight with a wrong move or an unfortunate duel, that was also the case in Bayern before -Cabin been an issue. Leon Goretzka reported on it. There was a “clear statement” from coach Nagelsmann that fear of injury “is the completely wrong approach”. Goretzka said: “Most of the time something happens if you don’t go in fully. Accordingly, we throw ourselves into every duel.”
A duel against Bremen, in which he went all the way, was still the last of the year for Mané – at least in the Bayern jersey.