Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane will be out of action for ‘in the region of three months’ after a knee problem suffered at the Allianz Arena ended his dream of competing at the World Cup, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.
Mane made the £35million switch to Bavaria during the summer, but boss Julian Nagelsmann will be unable to call upon the winger until the latter stages of the campaign after a major setback.
What’s the latest news involving Mane?
Having initially been named in Senegal’s squad for the World Cup, Mane’s hopes of representing his country in Qatar have been left in tatters.
That is because it has been revealed that the 30-year-old has undergone successful surgery, where a tendon was reattached to the head of his right fibula.
Mane went under the knife after it had originally been reported that he would only miss the early stages of the international tournament.
The former Liverpool man suffered the knee injury during Bayern’s 6-1 hammering of Werder Bremen earlier this month.
Mane’s unavailability comes as a major blow to Senegal, who are due to go head-to-head with hosts Qatar, Ecuador and the Netherlands in Group A.
What has Ben Dinnery said about Mane?
Dinnery believes Mane will be out of action for three months after undergoing surgery, which will leave his leg in a brace as he begins his road to recovery.
However, the injury news specialist has warned that the 92-cap Senegal international could endure an even longer period on the sidelines if his rehabilitation does not go to plan or there are setbacks along the way.
Dinnery told GIVEMESPORT: “They took the decision to go under the knife. After that surgery, the leg will be braced.
“Typically, we’re looking in the region of somewhere around 10-12 weeks and possibly even beyond that. In the region of three months is a good starting point, but it could extend a little bit beyond that.”
A nice easy start…
James Rodriguez Fredy Guarin
When will Mane return from injury?
If Mane is going to miss the next three months, he will not return until mid-February, meaning he will be unavailable for key clashes against the likes of RB Leipzig and be fighting to return ahead of Bayern’s Champions League last 16 meetings with Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern have gone into the break from domestic football sitting four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and will be confident of clinching the title in a matter of months, but there is no doubt that Mane’s presence will be missed.
Following his summer switch from Liverpool, he has scored 11 goals and registered a further four assists in 23 outings.
Statistics show that Mane was Bayern’s fourth best performer in the Champions League group stage, thanks to notching an average match rating of 7.73, but his underlying numbers are impressive as well.
According to FBref, he is in the 92nd and 91st percentiles for non-penalty goals and shots on target amongst his positional peers in the last year, so there is no doubt his injury will come as a major blow to Nagelsmann’s side.
