Mane Declared fit for Senegal’s AFCON quarter-final despite head injury

Sadio Mane has been declared fit for Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, just days after suffering a head knock that saw him taken to hospital.

The Liverpool star clashed heads with opposing goalkeeper Vozinha – who was sent off – as Senegal beat Cape Verde in Tuesday’s last-16 clash in Bafoussam.

Mane went on to score the first goal in the 2-0 win, but was later forced to leave the field, looking groggy and with swelling on the side of his face.

The 29-year-old underwent examinations that showed no trace of concussion, according to Senegal’s doctor Abdourahmane Fdior.

“All the symptoms he had on the pitch are gone,” said Fdior in a statement released by the Senegal FA. “His condition requires fairly close monitoring. Everything is normal on the X-ray.”

On Wednesday, brain-injury charity Headway criticised the decision to keep Mane on the field.

Luke Griggs, deputy chief executive of Headway, said: “This was a sickening collision that clearly left both players in enough distress for a concussion to have surely been considered a possibility at the very least.

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