Staff Reporter.
(Reuters) – Senegal forward Sadio Mane will miss the “first games” of the World Cup in Qatar due to injury, a Senegal soccer federation official was quoted as saying by local media on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old striker was named last week in Senegal’s 26-man squad for the World Cup, which starts on Sunday, despite picking up an injury to his right fibula playing for Bayern Munich in the run-up to the tournament.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said Mane, whose decisive penalties secured the Africa Cup of Nations title and World Cup qualification for his country this year, did not require surgery but hopes of him lining up against the Netherlands on 21 November appear slim.
“We will have to rely on playing the first games without Sadio and win without Sadio because we have 25 players apart from Sadio,” official Abdoulaye Sow said.
“No one would have wanted it, but that’s what’s happened to us.”
Meanwhile Brazil defender Marquinhos missed training on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury that also ruled him out of his club side Paris St Germain’s 5-0 win over Auxerre on Sunday.
With just nine days to go until Brazil’s opening World Cup match against Serbia, the defender, a certain first-choice starter under coach Tite, underwent physiotherapy while the rest of his team mates worked on the pitch at Juventus’s facilities in Turin.
Marquinhos later joined the group but only for a light jog at the end of the session. According to Brazil staff, there is no concern about his availability for the World Cup.
PSG had described the injury as “muscular discomfort” prior to the game against Auxerre, the final Ligue 1 match before the World Cup break.
His PSG team mate, Neymar, took part after missing Brazil’s first training session on Monday, having arrived late due to problems with his flight from Paris to Turin, where Brazil are holding a five-day camp before flying to Doha on Saturday.
Only 14 players had participated in on-field training on Monday, as those who played for their clubs over the weekend worked in the gym.
Elsewhere Spain manager Luis Enrique will step into the role of a Twitch streamer as he documents his team’s Qatar World Cup journey to offer fans a unique perspective of the tournament, the 52-year-old said on Tuesday.
The former Barcelona coach said he was arriving “all in” on the interactive streaming service and would begin his new off-pitch role when Spain arrive in the Middle Eastern country on 18 November.
“Streamers of the world, stand back, I’m going downhill and without brakes,” Luis Enrique said in a video posted on Twitter.
“My intention is to stream during the time we’re in Qatar… An idea that starts in a crazy way, the idea of establishing a direct relationship with fans told from my point of view and that of my staff.
“A direct and unfiltered communication, more spontaneous and more natural and interesting enough for everyone.”
The coach, who will lead the team in his first World Cup, said he was looking forward to the experience that awaits him despite teething trouble with technology.