Senegal risk Klopp anger over Mane
LIVERPOOL and Senegal could be heading for a collision over Sadio Mane after it emerged that the forward will be picked for the games that decide their World Cup destiny. Aliou Cisse, Senegal’s head coach, said yesterday he will select Mane for the double-header against South Africa on November 10 and 14 as he expects him to be fit to play. Mane, 25, suffered a grade two hamstring tear while playing for Senegal against the Cape Verde Islands on October 7 and Liverpool feared initially he would miss up to 10 games. That being the case, Liverpool did not expect him to be available until the first week of December. However, Mane’s recovery looks to be ahead of schedule. He has already started doing light running and, provided there is no reaction, he could move on to working with a ball by the middle of next week. Liverpool anticipated that Senegal would want to include Mane in their squad, given what is at stake. The player is also fiercely patriotic and would be devastated at the prospect of not being able to help his country try to secure a place at Russia 2018. But, if he has not played for Liverpool before those qualifiers, Anfield manager Jurgen Klopp will have deep misgivings about Mane being risked and it remains to be seen how this will play out. Cisse, however, is adamant that Mane will be in the best condition for international service and said: ‘There is no doubt he will be us for the doubleheader against South Africa and that he will be 100 per cent fit.’