Guinea’s defender Issiaga Sylla (down) tackles Senegal’s forward Sadio Mane during the Group B Africa Cup of Nations 2021 match between Senegal and Guinea at Stade de Kouekong in Bafoussam, January 14, 2022. — AFP pic
YAOUNDE, Jan 29 — Sadio Mane has been declared fit for Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Equatorial Guinea in Yaounde tomorrow, his country’s football federation said, days after suffering a head knock that saw him taken to hospital.
After scoring the opening goal, the Liverpool star clashed heads with the opposing goalkeeper as Senegal beat the Cape Verde Islands in Tuesday’s last-16 clash in Bafoussam and was forced to leave the field, looking groggy and with swelling on the side of his face.
He underwent examinations that showed no trace of concussion, said Senegal’s doctor Abdourahmane F?dior.
“All the symptoms he had on the pitch are gone. His condition requires fairly close monitoring. Everything is normal on the X-ray,” the doctor said in a statement released by the Senegalese federation.
Mane, The reigning African Footballer of the Year, posted a picture of himself on social media with the caption “recovering”.
He is a major part of Senegal’s hopes of winning their first continental championship in Cameroon. They were among the pre-tournament favourites but although they have reached the last eight, they have so far looked far from convincing. — Reuters