Senegal coach eases Mane concerns after Liverpool star goes off early against Togo

Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse eased concerns over Liverpool star Sadio Mane following his early withdrawal against Togo, describing his injury as “nothing serious”.

The Reds forward was substituted after just 28 minutes on Thursday, with Villarreal striker Boulaye Dia replacing him, and Senegal needed a 93rd-minute equaliser from Habib Diallo to cancel out Pape Abou Cisse’s first-half own goal and salvage a draw.

The result ended Senegal’s four-game winning streak in World Cup qualifying, although they have already advanced to the next stage as Group H winners.

Mane’s enforced substitution sparked worries the 29-year-old could be set for a spell on the sidelines, but his national team boss insisted the move was precautionary.

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“The [injury] is nothing serious,” Cisse said after the game. “We replaced him only as a precaution, not for anything important.”

Mane has been crucial to Liverpool this term, netting eight goals across all competitions for the Reds in 15 appearances, behind only Mohamed Salah, who has 15 strikes to his name.

The Senegal winger has also taken the second-most shots in all competitions for Liverpool (42), with 35 of them coming inside the box – again, only Salah betters both tallies at the club.

Liverpool suffered their first league defeat of the season against West Ham before the international break and slipped to fourth in the Premier League table as a result, but Jurgen Klopp’s men are only four points behind leaders Chelsea and still very much in the title race.