Senegal have confirmed forward Sadio Mane is “doing well” following his injury scare during the team’s Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 fixture against Cape Verde on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old suffered a clash of heads with the Blue Sharks’ goalkeeper Vozinha as they tussled for a high ball, and the Liverpool star appeared to be unconscious after going down.
While the Cape Verde keeper was shown a straight red card after receiving treatment from the incident, Mane stayed on the pitch and opened the scoring for the Lions of Teranga in the 63rd minute with a beautifully curled effort.
However, he could not finish the game as he went down to the ground a few minutes later, while holding his head, and was substituted. Senegal then went on to win the game 2-0 after Bamba Dieng, who came on for Mane, scored deep into stoppage time to secure a quarter-final berth.
Ahead of the team’s last-eight fixture against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, Senegal have posted on their social media page the progress being made by Mane.
“Sadio is doing well,” Senegal posted with pictures of smiling Mane, in the gym while giving thumbs up to the camera.
Mane, who has so far scored two goals in the 33rd edition of the competition in Cameroon, has also taken to his social media page to give further updates on his fitness.
“Recovering,” Mane wrote on his Instagram page accompanied with an emoji of love.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao is confident Mane will be involved when Senegal come up against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
“I spoke to him yesterday, just after he left the hospital, and he said everything was clear,” Diao told Sky Sports.
“From what I understood he has been cleared by the doctors and should be OK.”
Caf medical doctor Thulani Ngwenya has also assured Liverpool not to worry about the health of the forward, insisting they have a medical team capable of helping the player.
“We have a very capable medical team. Senegal have two team doctors, who are highly commended,” Ngwenya said as quoted by Sky Sports.
“I know the team doctors are responsible, so they communicate with the club and I understand that they have actually communicated with Liverpool and they have been told what is actually happening.
“What I know, is that after taking Mane for further investigations, we scanned the head and there was no structural damage, but that does not rule out a concussion.
“I’m confident that my colleagues are taking care of the player and the player was in good spirits when I saw him in the hospital.
“I’m not sure whether he will be available for the next match because when you look at the protocols I don’t whether he will be ready and I can't make that assessment. That judgement can only be made by the team doctors that are managing him on a daily basis.”
Senegal versus Cape Verde will be staged at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.
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