After Sadio Mane was selected for the Senegal World Cup squad, head coach of Bayern Munich Julian Nagelsmann stated that the club would continue to evaluate Mane’s injuries.
The attacker missed Bayern’s trip to Schalke on Saturday, their final match before the tournament in Qatar and their Christmas break, due to a fracture in the right fibula head he sustained in the hammering of Werder Bremen midweek.
Mane was reportedly initially deemed unfit to compete at the World Cup, but on Friday, he was announced as a member of the Lions of Teranga roster.
Nagelsmann has made it plain that Mane shouldn’t play until he is fully fit since he does not believe the situation is resolved.
Nagelsmann’s comment
“We’ll do another check in 10 days and then we’ll see how the recovery is going,” he said in Friday’s press conference.
“Of course, Senegal would like him to play. But if he’s in pain, he can’t play. Health is above football. That’s the case with us and also with everyone else.”
Bayern’s stats so far this season
Following Union Berlin’s loss to Bayer Leverkusen last week, Bayern went to the top of the Bundesliga. This week, they opened up a four-point advantage, showing significant improvement from the first few games of the season.
Bayern went four games without a win after beginning the season with three victories, but they have now won six straight, earning three points in each of their last five Bundesliga games.
Nagelsmann commended his team for the turnaround and expressed a desire to enter the midseason break with another victory.
“It was a turbulent half-year, probably one of the most turbulent in my professional life. We want to win the game against Schalke tomorrow, then we have done a good job in all competitions. Not a perfect one, but a good one,” he added.
“As a whole team, we have also developed again since the early crisis. If we go into the break as championship leaders, then that’s very valuable. We definitely want to maintain our lead.”
