UNITED STATES -- Senegal have confirmed that first-choice goalkeeper Édouard Mendy will miss the Teranga Lions World Cup Group I decider against Iraq on Friday, after sustaining injury in the African champions defeat by Norway on Monday.
Senegal were defeated 3-2 in their second group game at the MetLife Stadium, with a second-half injury to Mendy adding insult to injury.
The goalkeeper was replaced by Mory Diaw in the 63rd minute of that contest, and tests on Tuesday have confirmed that the 34-year-old will be unable to participate in Senegal's group decider against Iraq in Toronto.
"The Senegalese Football Federation inform the public that goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has sustained an injury to his left knee during the match between Senegal and Norway on Monday," an FSF statement, as received by ESPN, began.
"Following the initial medical examinations undertaken by the national team's medical staff, the player is declared to be unavailable for Senegal's next match.
"The appropriate care as well as complementary medical examinations are currently being undertaken in order to evaluate with precision the nature of the injury and determine whether he will be able to participate further in the competition.
"The Senegalese Football Federation address to Edouard Mendy our wishes for his swift recovery and hope to see him soon on the pitch."
In the aftermath of Monday's 3-2 defeat, Senegal skipper Kalidou Koulibaly revealed to ESPN that Mendy had suspected medial ligament damage, although the exact nature of the injury has not been confirmed by the federation on Tuesday.
"This hurt us as well, I think it affected the players mentally," Koulibaly told ESPN. "I hope it's nothing too serious because we really need him. The group needs him too."
While Senegal have conceded six goals across their two group matches so far - against France and Norway - Mendy pulled off critical saves in both games to at least keep the Lions within touching distance of their opponents.
In the Norway game in New Jersey, he denied Kristoffer Ajer from point-blank range during the opening moments of the match, before later pulling off an excellent save to deny Martin Odegaard in a one-on-one situation.
However, the stopper was beaten three times - once by Marcus Pedersen and then twice by Erling Haaland - as Norway ran out 3-2 winners, with Ismaïla Sarr responding twice for the West Africans.
Senegal must now defeat Iraq in Toronto in their final group game and hope that other group games go their way in order to progress to the knockouts.
They head into that fixture on zero points with a minus three goal difference, but three points and an improvement in their goal difference would likely be enough to see them through to the Last 32.
Senegal have reached the knockouts in two of their three previous World Cup campaigns, but were eliminated from the 2018 tournament in Russia on fairplay rules.
Mendy, the first African goalkeeper to win a UEFA Champions League when he was part of the Chelsea team that defeated Manchester City in 2021, is a two-time Africa Cup of Nations champion with Senegal.