Senegal ignore Liverpool’s plea as Sadio Mane STARTS in their AFCON clash with Equatorial Guinea

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane starts for Senegal as his side take on Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.

The Reds had urged Senegal not to risk their star in the crucial match it had been claimed, but this has since been ignored.

Mane had previously suffered an injury scare in his sides win over Cape Verde in their last match, and was taken to hospital following a clash of heads with opposition goalkeeper Vozinha in the 53rd minute, the latter who was shown a red card. 

The 29-year-old stayed on the pitch for several minutes, scoring his country’s opening goal 10 minutes later, before being withdrawn with dizziness.

Mane would normally miss the next game due to concussion protocols in the Premier League, but was pictured in training with his side prior to the match, and was even seen on an exercise bike.  

Sportsmail‘s Chris Sutton was damning in his assessment of how the situation was handled, previously. 

‘Mane collides with the goalkeeper at speed, then fails to break his fall, landing face-first instead,’ he said. ‘He’s unable to lift his head while lying on his back.

‘There only needs to be the slightest suspicion of concussion for the player to be substituted. Yet he was helped back up and pretty much told, ”You’ve passed the tests. On you go, son”.

‘After celebrating his goal, he dropped to the deck and then was a concussion substitute. It would be a ridiculous attitude from Senegal, from the Confederation of African Football, from FIFA or from anybody with influence in this situation, if he featured on Sunday.

‘If Mane does feature, that will be proof of football putting results ahead of players. This is the reality of football’s attitude towards brain injuries. It really is remarkable.’