Sadio Mané Vows to Return from Injury “Even Better Than Before”

On Tuesday, Sadio Mané successfully underwent surgery to repair a damaged meniscus. It will rule the star attacker out for at least the next eight weeks, the rest of the current season, but the player's prospects for returning to full health and fitness in time for pre-season are good.

The club and player chose to repair rather than removing the damaged piece of cartilage, and while that will mean a few more weeks on the sidelines now, long-term it means it's less likely Mané will suffer any lasting effects of the injury. And today, the player was in good spirits following the surgery.

"It's great that I have received so many encouraging messages from fans around the world," Mané said today. "It makes me proud and gives me so much power that so many supporters of Liverpool FC and Senegal give me such great support. I'd like to say thank you to everyone."

Following his arrival last summer from Southampton in a £35M deal, Mané had arguably been Liverpool's most important player up until his injury, scoring 13 goals and eight assists in 29 appearances across all competitions, good for a goal involvement every 116 minutes he was on the pitch.

Though his absence will make Liverpool's task of finishing in the top four and returning to the Champions League more difficult, the club remain narrow favourites to do just that, and if they do, a fully fit Mané will be integral to their hopes both domestically and in Europe come next season.

"I will give my very best after yesterday's successful surgery," he added, "to be back on the pitch as soon as possible and be even better than before."