Sadio Mane was forced to miss the World Cup and has only just returned to action for Bayern Munich, more than three months on from sustaining his leg injury.
Mane bid farewell to Liverpool last summer after six trophy-laden years, an emotional farewell to a player that was a cornerstone of the success enjoyed under Jurgen Klopp to date.
The 30-year-old swapped Anfield for the Allianz Arena and made 23 appearances before his season came to a grinding halt.
A leg injury at the start of November required surgery to repair a tendon on his right fibula, denying him the chance to represent Senegal at the World Cup.
And after more than three months on the sidelines, Mane made his return to action off the bench for Bayern, playing the final 25 minutes in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Union Berlin.
It was a moment to savour for Mane, who got straight into the thick of the action and came close to notching his fifth assist of the season after setting up Thomas Muller.
“Happy to be back and share the pitch with the boys! Important win,” Mane penned on Instagram after his comeback, a post that was well-liked by his former Liverpool teammates.
Jordan Henderson, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Roberto Firmino, Luis Diaz and Dejan Lovren all lauded his return to action after 110 days.
Mane’s return comes at a time when the Bundesliga title race has intensified, with only four points separating Bayern at the top and RP Leipzig in fourth after 22 games.
But while Liverpool’s former No. 10 has been thrown back into a title race, Klopp’s side find themselves in a different fight, with nine points currently between them and fourth spot – although the Reds have two games in hand over Tottenham.
This concludes the weekend of comebacks, as Loris Karius made his first start in 728 days and Arthur played a full 90 minutes for the under-21s after five months on the sidelines.
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