Huge blow: Croatia ace could miss World Cup final vs France

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Juli 13, 2018 Von Ali M.

Themenbereiche: Ivan Perisic, Croatia, England, France, FIFA World Cup

Vatreni could be made to sweat over the fitness of one key player.

Croatia may be on cloud nine after reaching the World Cup final but they could soon receive a huge blow for that upcoming game. As written by the Daily Mail, one key player could miss the ultimate game on Sunday.

That man is none other than Ivan Perisic, the man who scored the equalizing goal against England to force the game into extra-time. The 29-year-old hurt his thigh and was forced to go to a Moscow hospital for treatment 24 hours after their semi-final victory.

After the Three Lions encounter, Vatreni's medical staff applied an ice pack to his left thigh to reduce swelling but this may not have kept his dream of playing in the final alive. As of now, head coach Zlatko Dalic has not given any official update on the fitness of his players ahead of the France game.

Unfortunately, the Croatian players were always at risk of burning out or suffering injuries after seeing their third straight World Cup game go into added-time. Modric and Co. were forced to play 120 minutes of grueling football in every single knockout-stage match, with all but one ending in a penalty shootout.

Should Perisic be ruled out for the final, it will be a huge blow for a side hoping to shock Les Bleus and win the title. Nonetheless, Croatia will head into Sunday's highly-anticipated tie with the same do-or-die attitude that has helped them reach the ultimate game.