His season is over: cruciate ligament injury strikes Senegal squad star

A painful blow for Senegal

Nice have been dealt a heavy blow. Their defender Antoine Mendy has torn the cruciate ligament in his left knee, ruling the Senegal international out for several months and compounding the misery of their 1-1 draw with Le Mans.

Scans on Sunday confirmed the extent of the injury Mendy suffered during the match, when he fell awkwardly on his left knee. The results vindicated the medical staff's worst fears.

Mendy had come on as a substitute around a quarter of an hour from time, but could not see the game out. He left the Allianz Riviera pitch in clear distress, gripped by severe pain in his knee.

Nice, then, did not just drop two points. They lost one of their players for a long stretch, with the scans revealing an injury that will keep him off the pitch for months. A more precise timeframe will depend on how his treatment and recovery progress.