Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has revealed he called his former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane after the attacker sustained an injury which is reportedly set to rule him out of Senegal's opening group clash against the Dutch at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The two sides are placed in Group A alongside hosts Qatar and Ecuador, who will play the opening match on 20 November at the Al Bayt Stadium, before Van Dijk's side takes on the reigning African champions the following day.
The Lions of Teranga are expected to be without their star man, who sustained a tendon injury during Bayern Munich's league tie with Werder Bremen on 8 November. Mane was nonetheless named in Aliou Cisse's 26-man squad for the World Cup as he is considered to be a key figure in the national team.
Senegal Football Federation board member Abdoulaye Sow confirmed that the reigning African Footballer of The Year will miss the first few games of the tournament due to his unfortunate setback.
Read: Senegal chief confirms Mane's World Cup fate
With Mane now expected to play no part in his country's game on Monday, Holland skipper Van Dijk revealed that he spoke to his former Reds teammate about the injury and admitted that the game would be difficult even without the Senegalese No.10.
"It's going to be tough if he plays or not,' said Van Dijk, according to the Daily Mail. ""I don't think he will play, but Senegal have a fantastic team.
"Of course (I have spoken to him), '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 Euros. We as players work so hard to get to this stage and he has been such an important figure for his 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. I just want to tell him that whether he plays or not, it's going to be such a tough game."
Read: African star: We will make it out of our World Cup group
Mane and Van Dijk played 199 games together across their time at Southampton and Liverpool, with only Mohamed Salah, Robert Firmino, and Andrew Robertson having played more with the West African forward, according to Transfermarkt.
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