MANE OUT OF WORLD CUP

doctors gave him the thumbsdown. It’s a hammer blow for the 30-year-old, rumoured to be unsettled in Germany following his summer move from Merseyside.

Senegal team doctor Manuel Afonso told a press conference: “Unfortunately, his recovery has not been as encouraging as we had hoped.” Mane, who scored the decisive penalty as his country beat Egypt to win the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, will now undergo surgery on the knee.

Mane is the latest in a long line of star names out of Qatar due to injury. He joins Paul Pogba,

N’golo Kante, Diogo Jota and Reece James on the casualty list. None of the famous Anfield Fab Three will be at the World Cup. Mo Salah and Egypt failed to qualify while Brazil snubbed Roberto Firmino.

Senegal begin their World Cup campaign against Holland on Monday and also face hosts

Qatar and Ecuador in Group A.