Mané is missed, Liverpool star hopes to see him back. Anfield smiles

Months have passed since the departure of Sadio Mané to Bayern Munich in Germany, where he not only left a void in the goalscoring quota, but created a brutal emotional absence in the fans and inside the Merseyside club, who now see him smiling in another league. Mané, who is on the Senegal squad for the World Cup, was ruled out by the same federation to play in Qatar.

Mané was within touching distance of playing his second World Cup with the Senegal national team, but a knee injury in Bayern's last home game (8 November) in a 6-1 thrashing of Werder Bremen ruled him out of the winter tournament. The 30-year-old striker was unable to recover and his place will have to be taken by another team-mate, with Sunday the deadline for coach Aliou Cissé to make a decision.

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Incidentally, Netherlands captain and Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk spoke of his sadness at not seeing his friend in action, as they were due to meet on 21 November in their first game in Group A, where they share a place with hosts Qatar and Ecuador, who will open the 22nd edition of the World Cup on Sunday.

Van Dijk shared the pain and empathy that comes with missing a tournament with his national team due to injury. "Of course I was feeling sad for him, first and foremost. I'm not happy in this case and I've been in that situation where I missed the Euro's in 2021," said the defender. He also pointed out that the clash against the Lions will be intense. "I just want to tell him that whether he plays, yes or no, it's going to be such a tough game".

Van Dijk misses Mané

The Red's star sent a message to Mané, hoping to see him back in a Liverpool shirt, where he is sorely missed. "We as players, we work so hard to get to this stage and he has been such an important figure in that group, for their country. I know for a fact that he will put a brave face on it, but it's tough and I feel sorry for him," he said.