Sadio Mane suffers head injury playing for Senegal at Afcon
The incident will raise concerns over concussion protocols at the tournament after Mane was allowed to continue
Sadio Mane was allowed to play on for 16 minutes after suffering a head injury during Senegal’s round of 16 meeting with Cape Verde, leading to serious questions over concussion protocol at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The Liverpool forward was visibly dazed after a clash of heads with goalkeeper Vozinha, who was the last man, on the edge of the box. The Cape Verde stopper was sent off, reducing his side to nine men after Patrick Andrade had also seen red.
Mane remained on and went on to score a spectacular goal to put Senegal in front, a curving effort that rattled in off the crossbar.
It was apparent that the 29-year-old was still feeling the effects of the earlier incident and in the aftermath of his 63rd minute goal, he went to ground.
However, he was not substituted until the 70th minute, when he was replaced with Bamba Dieng. The Marseille attacker went on to score Senegal’s second goal in the 2-0 victory.
In 2021, the International Football Association Board (Ifab) introduced permanent concussion substitutions following extensive consultation with medical experts and national associations.
In order to protect players, Ifab insisted teams would be allowed an additional substitute if necessary to facilitate taking players off if there was any suspicion that they had suffered a concussion.
The Premier League adopted the ruling in February of that year.
As well as affecting Liverpool, who are hoping to have Mane back fit for their next Premier League game against Leicester on 10 February, this latest incident will be of concern to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), who complain that their flagship tournament is not given due respect and is often treated as a nuisance because it comes midway through the seasons of the major European leagues.
Nor is this the first controversy to mar this year’s Afcon. Tunisia’s group stage defeat to Mali descended into farce when referee Janny Sikazwe, an official who has previously been suspended for alleged corruption, blew the final whistle on 86 minutes.
