A "CAF" medical official defends the injury of Senegalese Mane

Thulani Nguina, in charge of medical affairs at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), defended the position of the Senegalese national team and its handling of its striker Sadio Mane's head injury during the match with Cape Verde (Cape Verde) in the round of 16 competitions of the African Nations Cup currently being held in Cameroon. .

Mane was hit in the head after colliding with the opponent's goalkeeper, who was sent off after resorting to the video assistant referee (VAR), last Tuesday.

The Liverpool striker received treatment on the field, but was allowed to continue playing to score the goal for Senegal, who won the match 2-0. Despite that, Mane fell to the ground during his celebration of the goal, to get out of the match after that and undergo some tests in the hospital. Mane reassured his fans via social media, stressing that he is in good condition, but the Headway Association, which specializes in head injuries, criticized the Senegalese team for allowing Mane to continue playing after his injury.

"This appears to be a new example of football putting results as a priority over player safety," said Luke Griggs, Headway's executive vice president. "It was a very strong collision, it was enough to cause concussions for both players, and that can be taken into account at the very least."

He continued, "Given that point, the principle of caution should prevail, as Mane should have been replaced without another kick."

But Ngwena insisted that Mane is in safe hands with the medical staff in the Senegalese national team, who in turn communicates with his counterpart in the Liverpool team, where Mane plays.

"We have a very good medical team, Senegal has two highly acclaimed doctors," Nguina said in comments reported by the British "Sky Sports" network.

He added: "I know that the team doctors are responsible, so they are communicating with the club and I understand that they have already contacted Liverpool."

"What I know is that after Mane was under more scrutiny, we checked his head and there was no structural injury, but that does not rule out the possibility of a concussion."

He explained, "I am sure that my teammates are taking good care of the player and the player was in great spirits when I saw him in the hospital."

And he added, "I heard people asking why he was not replaced after he was injured in the match. The medical evaluation depends on the current condition and what he sees and is evaluated."

"The medical team has spent a long time evaluating Mane's condition," he said.

He added, "Perhaps during the process of evaluating his injury, the medical staff concluded that it was nothing more than a collision in the head, not a concussion, because they did not notice anything indicating the presence of a concussion."

"We need to clarify things because you can't have an assessment of the situation now and then a different assessment comes two minutes later," Ngwena said.

"But when I got in he had some concussion traits, so it was easy for me to say he needed to get out of the match."

He continued: “The player is not qualified to make a decision because they are confused, so you, as a doctor, have to make the decision on their behalf.”

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