Sadio Mane sends heartfelt message to Taiwo Awoniyi after horror injury
Liverpool icon Sadio Mane shared the dressing room with stricken Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi during his time at Anfield and has sent him a lovely message as he recovers from injury
Sadio Mane has sent his prayers to former Liverpool team-mate Taiwo Awoniyi as he recovers from his horror injury. The Nottingham Forest star ruptured his intestine colliding with a goalpost against Leicester last weekend.
He initially attempted to play on but was forced off the pitch. Awoniyi's condition then deteriorated, needing to undergo emergency surgery before being put in an induced coma to aid his recovery.
Awoniyi has been brought out of that since. And as he begins his road to recovery, Mane posted a message of support to his ex-Anfield colleague.
Sharing an image of Awoniyi during his time on Merseyside, the now Al-Nassr forward wrote: 'Get well soon my brother! My prayers are with you and your family.'
Awoniyi, 27, spent six years at Anfield but failed to make a first-team appearance due to work permit issues. He was sent out on a series of loans before joining German side Union Berlin permanently.
25 goals in 65 appearances in the German capital convinced Forest to splash out a reported £17m on the striker in 2022 and he has gone on to score 19 goals for the Midlands side. Forest remain in the hunt for a Champions League berth, but defender Ola Aina has admitted the scary nature of Awoniyi's injury has impacted the dressing room.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Aina said: 'T is a very chilled guy. He doesn't like to get in the way. He goes about his own business but he can have fun as well.
'He has been in a couple of my [ YouTube ] videos but I know he doesn't like the cameras too much so I try not to put them in his face. I respect that about him. I have sent him a message of course. The whole team has.
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'I have heard he is recovering well so hopefully we will hear from him soon. I knew he had hurt himself at the time but just didn't realise it was to that extent. I only really heard when everyone was sending messages on our players' group chat.
'We have a lot of things in common, me and Taiwo. Like our faith. But this is our team-mate and brother and someone we spend most of the year with day in day out. It affects everybody in some sort of way. All we can do is show our support and hopefully everything goes well for him now.'
Forest will be without Awoniyi as they attempt to seal a Champions League spot over the next fortnight. They take on West Ham on Sunday before a key clash with Chelsea on the final day.
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