Qatar 2022: Mané and Nico Gonzalez miss the World Cup. Dybala in doubt

The World Cup in Qatar hasn’t even started and it has already lost two protagonists. One of them is a star, Sadio Mané. The Senegal forward did not recover from the injury to his fibula but attempted a quick recovery right up to the last minute. At the press conference, the federal doctor announced the forfeit, adding that the player will undergo surgery shortly. Instead, it was a tweet from Argentina that announced that Nico Gonzalez will not be part of the 26-man squad due to a muscle injury.

TROUBLE SENEGAL

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The reigning African champions are forced to give up their number 10, as well as captain. It was known that the Bayern Munich star was not 100% and in fact his absence in the first two group games against the Netherlands and Qatar was practically a given. The fibula head injury sustained on 8 November with the Bavarians has not been fully recovered and today the Senegalese national team doctor Manuel Afonso announced in a press conference that Mané will not be able to play in the World Cup. “Unfortunately, today’s MRI shows that the improvement is not as favorable as we imagined,” he said in a video on Senegal’s official Twitter account. Now coach Aliou Ciss has the task of finding a tactical solution to fill the absence of the former Liverpool player. At the moment, the Federation has not communicated who will take his place so as to bring the squad back to 26: there will be time until Sunday.

ARGENTINA GRAIN

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Scaloni, on the other hand, has already announced a change in his list. The Argentina coach has chosen Atletico Madrid’s Ángel Correa to replace Nico Gonzalez. The Fiorentina striker suffered a muscle injury in training and will not be part of the definitive group that he will fly to Qatar. For Argentina, the approach to the World Cup continues to be tormented. Already an orphan of Giovanni Lo Celso, Scaloni had warned about the possibility of changing the squad just a day ago, immediately after the 5-0 friendly win against the United Arab Emirates. He had clearly referred to four players who were not at the top and Nico Gonzalez was among the suspects. Paulo Dybala’s conditions remain to be clarified. One thing is certain: by Sunday the definitive list of 26 must be presented and only then will we know Joya’s fate.