In an unfortunate turn of events, Bayern Munich star, Sadio Mane, will miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup after playing a key role to get Senegal a spot at the tournament.

The 30-year-old forward learned of his fate from the Bayern Munich doctors on Wednesday morning after tests were carried out on the injury he sustained in the Bavarians' match against Werder Bremen in round 14 of the German Bundesliga. His absence was not a big miss as the club went on to record a 6 - 1 win over Bremen, thanks to a hat-trick from Serge Gnabry and goals from Jamal Musiala, Leon Goretzka and Mathys Tel.

Bayern had initially been confident that Mane's injury would not be serious. Club assistant manager Dino Toppmoller stated to journalists when asked about the severity of the African champion's injury: "He got hit in the leg, which caused a little nerve pain. Nothing too serious. His participation in the World Cup shouldn't be in jeopardy."

However, according to French publication L'Equipe, Mane, who finished as the runner up to Karim Benzema for the 2022 Ballon d'Or,  has actually suffered a tendon injury and will not be fit in time to feature at the World Cup.

Teranga Lions manager Aliou Cisse is expected to announce his World Cup squad on Friday and Mane, who is Senegal's all time leading goal scorer with 34 goals from 92 appearances, is no longer expected to make the cut. This is a huge blow to the 2021 African Cup of Nations winners, who are seen as Africa's best chance of winning the World Cup.

Mane joins Alphonso Davies, Matthijs De Ligt and Thomas Muller on the sidelines for Bayern Munich. However, Mane looks to be the only one who could miss the tournament as the others have been out for longer.

Mane has effectively replaced the goal-scoring threat of Robert Lewandowski, who chose to call time on his Bayern career for a move to Barcelona. He, however, has some way to go before he can start scoring at the same pace as the Polish international.