Pape Thiaw, head coach of Senegal during 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Senegal Training on the 26 December 2025 in Tangier ©Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Saturday May 23, 2026. 11:00
Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw believes that Kalidou Koulibaly will recover from his thigh injury to skipper the team at the 2026 World Cup.
The 34-year-old centre-back hasn’t featured since April 8 when he sustained a freak injury in a collision with a team-mate in training for Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.
Koulibaly has missed the last six league games as well as the King’s Cup of Champions final against Al Kholood, which saw the Riyadh outfit run out 2-1 victors to lift the trophy.
There were fears that the Lions of Teranga captain would be ruled out of the global showpiece, but his recovery is going “very well” and has been included in Thiaw’s 28-man squad for their campaign in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“He is the captain of this team, the one who brings everyone together,” Thiaw said.
“He is evolving very well in his recovery. I think that by three weeks before the World Cup, he will be ready for it. This World Cup is not a 100-meter race, it’s a marathon, and I believe he will be ready on time.”
The West Africans were drawn in Group I and will kick things off against France on June 16 before taking on Norway and Iraq.