Former Senegal defender Lamine Sané said the Teranga Lions could replace captain Kalidou Koulibaly in the backline if the 34-year-old misses the FIFA World Cup as he struggles to recover from a thigh injury, the report says.
Koulibaly has not played for Al Hilal since April 8 after colliding with a teammate in training, and the report says no date has been given for his return, leaving his participation in the tournament that begins on June 11 in doubt. Last week, club coach Simone Inzaghi expressed shock at the injury, which the report describes as a potentially serious “thigh contusion with a hematoma.” As of late April, Koulibaly was still unable to run and will miss Al Hilal’s King’s Cup final on May 8, the report adds.
Sané, who oversees Senegal’s U-17 team, told the Agence de Presse Sénégalaise that the national side has players able to step in if Koulibaly is unavailable. “We have players capable of filling his absence and Senegal has what it takes to compete in the World Cup,” Sané said, per the report. He added that Koulibaly’s absence would be “a huge disappointment,” calling him “the captain” and “the key player for the national team.”
The report notes Koulibaly came off a testing Africa Cup of Nations in which he was twice sent off, missing the final victory over Morocco, though he contributed to a defensive record in which the Lions conceded twice in seven matches. He was named in Pape Thiaw’s squad for March internationals but did not feature against Peru or The Gambia, with Mamadou Sarr, Abdoulaye Seck, Moussa Niakhaté and debutant Nobel Mendy alternating in the centre of defence, the report says.
Senegal are due to play a pre-tournament friendly against Saudi Arabia in San Antonio on June 9 before opening their World Cup campaign against France in East Rutherford on June 16, followed by Norway six days later and Iraq in Toronto on June 26. The report adds preparations have been disrupted by separate reports that six members of the Senegalese Football Federation were refused entry visas to the United States. If selected, Koulibaly would be set to feature at his third World Cup, having been part of the Teranga Lions in 2018 and 2022, the report says.
