Senegal to assess Mane and Sakho

Senegal will assess injured pair Sadio Mane and Diafra Sakho at their Africa Cup of Nations camp to determine if they can participate at the finals.

Southampton midfielder Mane has a calf problem that his club boss’ Ronald Koeman says has ruled the player out ‘of the 17 January to 8 February event.

Sakho, who plays for West Ham, is suffering from a back injury.

Senegal boss Alain Giresse said both players will join up with the national squad in Morocco for further tests.

“Sadio Mane is in the list of 23 players. He has a one-time muscle problem, said Giresse, who added that the player will arrive in camp on 11 January.

Giresse has until 7 January to finalise his squad but revealed he may use a “medical joker” – a provision that allows him to call up a player up to 48 hours before the country’s first game (against Ghana on 19 January) – in order to give Sane the greatest chance of recovering in time.

In Sakho’s case, Giresse said the striker “faces a recurring problem” and the Frenchman added that the player will have tests with the national team’s medical staff.

Sakho’s club manager, Sam Allardyce, revealed the player has seen a specialist about the problem but more information is needed.

“He has had all the appropriate scans, but we need to sit down and assess the extent of the injury – has it got any worse since the last time? Is it the same (problem)?” he said.

“With a back problem, it is a delicate scenario, so until we get the full diagnosis from the specialist, we won’t know which will be the way forward.”