Tight World Cup Turnaround Jeopardizes Hopes for Injured Soccer Stars

With only eight days between the end of competitive games in Europe and the start of the tournament in Qatar, even minor issues are knocking players out

Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich receives medical treatment during a match against Werder Bremen on Tuesday. Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

As Bayern Munich striker Sadio Mané hobbled off the field in Munich on Tuesday night, there shouldn’t have been much cause for immediate concern. He wasn’t in any obvious distress and he was walking under his own power. In any normal season, the effects of a November knock in a 6-1 rout of Werder Bremen wouldn’t ripple further than a few weeks.

But this isn’t a normal season. This is the one and only year in soccer history with a World Cup smack in the middle of the fall. And as Mané knows too well, kickoff with the Senegalese national team in Qatar is only 12 days away. 

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