Mane injured as Senegal draw, Mali qualify for final round
Liverpool star Sadio Mane suffered an injury that forced him to be substituted by Senegal 27 minutes into a World Cup qualifier against Togo that finished 1-1 on Thursday.
The 29-year-old forward fell awkwardly after colliding with a defender as he sought to head the ball and had to be replaced after sustaining a suspected rib or hip injury.
Senegal, who had already won Group H and reached the final elimination stage in Africa, snatched a point in Lome via an added-time goal from Habib Diallo after a Pape Cisse own goal put Togo ahead just before half-time.
A Senegalese official told AFP that Mane would return on Friday to Premier League title contenders Liverpool, whose next fixture is at home to Arsenal on November 20th.
The Mane injury overshadowed the other seven matchday five qualifiers in which Mali became the third country to reach the third round after a 3-0 away win over 10-man Rwanda in Group E.
Rwanda had Djihad Bizimana red-carded after only eight minutes for a foul as the last defender and Mali took full advantage to net twice within a minute.
Southampton winger Moussa Djenepo struck a superb opener with a low shot from outside the box on 19 minutes and Ibrahima Kone then notched his fifth goal of the qualifying campaign.
Kalifa Coulibaly completed the rout on 88 minutes and victory gave Mali an unassailable four-point advantage over Uganda, who were surprisingly held 1-1 at home by Kenya.