It is the tournament that Premier League managers dread.
The Africa Cup of Nations is held every two years, generally in the month of January.
It often deprives Premier League managers of their most prized assets, resulting in worries over how a particular team will cope in their absence or whether that player will return from the tournament with an injury.
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’s major concern right now is how star player Mané will return from his international obligations with Senegal.
Mané has been a key component to Liverpool’s success so far this season.
The attacker has scored eight goals in 17 starts for the Merseyside club.
Mané’s importance to Liverpool is underlined by the club’s decision to hire their former head physiotherapist, Dave Galley, to shadow Mané during the tournament, as reported by The Times.
Galley will liaise with the Senegal FA throughout the tournament in relation to the fitness of Mané and he will provide updates on the Senegal star to Liverpool.
Galley was Liverpool’s head physiotherapist between 1999 and 2005.
Mané will leave for the tournament after Liverpool’s game with Sunderland, he could potentially be out-of-action for his club for up to a month, with the final of the tournament set to take place on February 5.
Based on this evidence, the £34 million summer signing is a major asset to Klopp’s side and for Liverpool’s sake, they will hope he returns from Gabon unscathed.
