Senegal’s Sarr set to miss World Cup due to surgery on problematic patellar tendon

Senegal defender Bouna Sarr will miss the World Cup as he is set to undergo knee surgery to repair his patellar tendon on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old Bayern Munich right-back has been struggling with knee problems for the last two seasons and according to L’Equipe, has been advised to undergo the operation which will keep him out until January 2023, ruling him out of the global tournament in Qatar.

Sarr was hampered by the problem last season and managed just five appearances for Bayern and is yet to feature in the 2022-23 campaign for the Bundesliga champions, having started on the bench in three of the Bavarian giants’ six league games.

Despite the discomfort, the defender, who can also play as a right winger, featured in all seven games of Senegal’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations campaign as they beat Egypt in the final to claim their maiden continental title in Cameroon in February and his absence will disrupt coach Aliou Cisse’s World Cup plans.

The player, who has 13 caps for Senegal, was a starter on the right flank for the Teranga Lions in Cameroon and also featured in six World Cup qualifiers for his country.

His last game for Bayern came in March this year when he played 45 minutes in their Uefa Champions League Last 16 second leg tie in which the German heavyweights thrashed Austrian champions RB Salzburg 7-1 at the Allianz Arena.

Sarr also missed Senegal’s 2023 Afcon qualifiers in June when they beat Benin 3-1 before edging out Rwanda 1-0.

The French-born defender joined Bayern in October 2020 from Ligue 1 side Marseille and made his debut in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, providing two assists to fellow new signing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as the club defeated fifth division side FC Duren 3-0.

He scored his first goal for the club in the first round of the same competition in August 2021 as Bayern thrashed fifth-division club Bremer SV 12-0.

The Teranga Lions have set up a friendly match with Bolivia on September 24 as part of their World Cup preparations where Cisse will likely have a look at possible Sarr replacements.

Senegal have hosts Qatar, the Netherlands and Ecuador in their World Cup group and will begin their campaign on November 21 against the Dutch.