Barcelona confirms Rakitic hamstring injury
Croatia had already confirmed that Ivan Rakitic would not be fit to face England, with Barcelona announcing that he has a hamstring injury.
Published : Nov 17, 2018 17:56 IST
Barcelona has confirmed Ivan Rakitic has been diagnosed with a hamstring injury. Rakitic was substituted midway through the second half of Croatia's 3-2 Nations League win against Spain, in which Tin Jedvaj scored a late winner.
Coach Zlatko Dalic subsequently confirmed that Rakitic would not travel with Croatia to London for Sunday's decisive clash with England.
And, Barcelona announced on Saturday that examinations have found Rakitic has a hamstring injury in his right leg, with no timescale given for his recovery.
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Rakitic was already unavailable for Barca's next game, away to LaLiga title rival Atletico Madrid on November 24, due to suspension.
The midfielder was sent off in Barca's last match before the international break, a 4-3 loss to Real Betis that was its first home defeat under Ernesto Valverde.
Dalic named Nikola Vlasic, Mateo Kovacic, Josip Brekalo and Milan Badelj as players who could fill in for the injured Rakitic at Wembley.
Croatia will qualify for the finals of the inaugural Nations League if it beats England in a repeat of the World Cup semifinal, but will be relegated to League B if it loses.