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Senegal forward Sadio Mané has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar in a crushing blow to his team’s chances after officials confirmed on Thursday he would need surgery on a leg injury sustained in the run-up to the tournament.

Mané had been a doubt for the west African side after injuring his right fibula playing for German club Bayern Munich.

"Unfortunately, today's (Thursday) MRI shows us that the recovery is not as favorable as we hoped and we unfortunately resolve to declare Sadio's withdrawal from the World Cup," Senegal team doctor Manuel Afonso told reporters.

Eintracht Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani will replace RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku in the France squad for the World Cup in Qatar, the French federation (FFF) said on Wednesday.

Didier Deschamps has called up Randal Kolo Muani to replace Christopher Nkunku! #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/bFsbLfI7wI

Eden Hazard believes he has a lot to offer Belgium at the World Cup and is confident he can prove his detractors wrong as the midfielder ruled out an imminent departure from Real Madrid.

Hazard, going to the global showpiece tournament for the third time, is Belgium captain but has barely played for Real this season after falling out of favor under coach Carlo Ancelotti.

The 31-year-old, however, is comparing the situation to the European Championship in 2020 when he also went into the competition lacking game time.

A lot of people were left hurting by Ricardo Pepi's snub from the final 26-man USMNT World Cup roster.

The 19-year-old from El Paso, TX, is a hugely likable talent who came up clutch in qualifying with three goals, including the go-ahead strike on the road in Honduras and a brace against Jamaica. What worked against Pepi is that those three goals were all registered in back-to-back games over a year ago.

Sitting on USWNT Zoom media calls before Thursday night's friendly against Germany in Fort Lauderdale, the answer to every question was some iteration of how the squad would rebound from back-to-back October defeats to England and Spain.

The idea of the U.S. not putting things right wasn't entertained. Lessons had been learned, Alex Morgan was returning and statements would be made.

England right back Reece James confirmed on Wednesday he will not be a part of the England team at the World Cup in Qatar due to a knee injury, further depleting manager Gareth Southgate's options in defense.

Chelsea's James had stolen ahead of a packed field to make his spot on the right of England's back five his own, but a knee injury picked up on Oct. 11 against AC Milan ruled him out for eight weeks.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Chelsea manager Graham Potter had said James was only taking part in light training.

The latest Sadio Mané injury news has some conflicting reports. What’s certain is that the Bayern Munich and Senegal star forward is doubtful for the World Cup after suffering an injury to his right fibula.

Mané was substituted out of Bayern’s Bundesliga meeting with Werder Bremen in the 20th meeting after sustaining the leg injury.

Sadio Mane comes off for Bayern just 20 minutes into the match due to an apparent injury.

USMNT and Crystal Palace center back Chris Richards posted to Instagram on Tuesday confirming American fans’ fears that he will miss the 2022 World Cup due to injury.

BERLIN — A Qatar World Cup ambassador has told German television broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was "damage in the mind", as the Gulf state prepares to host the global tournament in less than two weeks.

In an interview filmed in Doha and to be screened later on Tuesday, former Qatari international Khalid Salman addressed the issue of homosexuality, which is illegal in the conservative Muslim country.