Sadio Mane spent an hour chatting to 20-year-old Wolfsberger player Maxi Scharfetter as the Bayern Munich man recovered in hospital after knee surgery.
Mane suffered the injury during Bayern’s 6-1 win over Werder Bremen but was included in Senegal’s 26-man World Cup squad. However, a few days before their first match, it was confirmed that Mane will not be able to play in the tournament as his injury required surgery.
Now, Mane has successfully undergone surgery and met with young Wolfsberger player Scharfetter, who was in the same hospital as the Senegal star.
Scharfetter said: “I had surgery on Thursday and in the evening I saw on Instagram that Sadio Mané was in the same clinic as me.
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“We talked for probably an hour, Mané is such a nice person. He said that my injury would only make me stronger and that I should give 110%. The last thing he said was: Maybe we'll play a Champions League final together.”
Fans were quick to praise the former Liverpool man on social media.
One fan said: “Mane is such a class and humble guy man, can’t hate him.”
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Another commented: “If you hate Mane, there’s something wrong with you.”
A third fan added: “Mane is such a class act, it is impossible to dislike the man.”
Bayern released a statement last week after Mane’s surgery, it read: “Sadio Mane underwent successful surgery in Innsbruck by Prof Christian Fink and Dr Andy Williams from London on Thursday evening.
“During the operation, a tendon was reattached to the head of his right fibula. The Bayern forward will therefore no longer be available to play for Senegal at the World Cup and will begin his rehab in Munich in the next few days.”
Senegal played their World Cup opener on Monday against the Netherlands, despite a strong effort, two late goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klassen secured a 2-0 win for Louis van Gaal’s side.
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Next up for Senegal will be Qatar on Friday.
Topics: Sadio Mane, Bayern Munich, Senegal
Marcus Chan