Injured Liverpool star Sadio Mane has issued an emotional ‘Thank you’ message for the fans who posted their heartfelt recovery wishes to the Senegal star who was seen coming out of a London hospital after a surgery on the knee to repair a torn meniscus.

The Liverpool star is reportedly ruled out for the season and this might come as a major blow as he is the club’s top goalscorer this season. Mane has 13 goals and 8 assists to his name in his debut season at Anfield and Liverpool have evidently struggled in his absence.

They have won just one game out of 6 in which the Senegal star has not played. Their form dipped during Mane’s participation in the African Cup of Nations tournament in January and that’s when Liverpool’s title challenge faltered completely.

Sadio Mane injured himself in Liverpool’s derby win against Everton and missed the Reds’ thrilling encounter against Stoke City. The dynamic winger sent out a thank you message for the fans through the club’s official website.

Mane told Liverpoolfc.com: “It’s great that I have received so many encouraging messages from fans around the world, particularly on social media. It makes me proud and gives me so much power that so many supporters of Liverpool FC and Senegal give me such great support. I’d like to say thank you to everyone. I will give my very best after yesterday’s successful surgery to be back on the pitch as soon as possible and be even better than before.”

It is rather sad to see the 25-year old’s brilliant campaign be cut short by an unfortunate injury and surely, a player of his mentality will come out strong facing this setback.

It would be difficult now for Liverpool to sustain their top-4 challenge and will look to the Brazilian duo of Coutinho and Firmino to deliver, just like they did against Stoke City. Scoring goals has not been a problem for the Reds and hence they must be able to carry on just fine. However, they will miss Mane’s stellar performances in tight situations.

All that the Reds can now do is to buckle up and work their way towards a top-4 finish.