Dakar (AFP) – Stoke City striker Mame Biram Diouf will miss Senegal’s 2018 World Cup qualifying double-header against Burkina Faso due to a knee injury, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Diouf joins Rennes goalkeeper Abdoulaye Diallo on the sidelines for the September 2 match in Dakar, as well as the return fixture in Ouagadougou three days later. 

Senegal are third in Group D with three points from two matches and trail leaders Burkina Faso and second-placed South Africa by one point. Cape Verde are bottom after back-to-back defeats.

Only the group winners will qualify for next year’s finals in Russia.