Mateo Kovacic, a midfielder for Manchester City, is now a questionable injury for the Premier League trip to West Ham United on Saturday.
The 29-year-old made a successful transition to life under manager Pep Guardiola after joining the club from Chelsea this summer.
He started each of the team’s first five games across all competitions.
Kovacic, who primarily plays as a deep-lying midfielder, was a part of City’s UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla that was decided on penalties.
He has also aided the Citizens in accumulating a maximum of 12 points through four Premier League games.
Before joining the Croatian team on international duty in preparation for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Latvia and Armenia, Kovacic played 84 minutes in City’s crushing 5-1 home victory over Fulham on September 2.
However, Kovacic was injured last Friday against Latvia and was forced to watch as an unused substitute.
The midfielder said following the game that he would be “ready” for the Armenia match on Tuesday.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Kovacic admitted to reporters that he had some issues prior to the match with Latvia but that he is now prepared.
“However, I’ll make every effort to give my final workout my best effort, and the coach will make the final call. The person who is most prepared will participate.
Even though playing every three days is difficult, there is no other option.”.
Asserting that the decision to bench Kovacic was a precaution, Croatian head coach Zlatko Dalic said: “Kovacic and [Lovro] Majer might have played against Latvia, but we wanted to preserve them.
Lovro will be one of the substitutes, and Mateo will start if he is prepared.”.
Kovacic was not risked due to a muscle injury in his back, according to Croatian news outlet Jutarnji List, and he once again observed from the bench as Croatia defeated Armenia 1-0.
According to the report, Kovacic could miss at least 10 days of action and may need to have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
Therefore, Kovacic would be unable to play in both the Champions League group-stage opener at home against Red Star Belgrade next Tuesday and the Premier League matchup between West Ham and the Hammers on Saturday at the London Stadium.
John Stones and Jack Grealish, who did not play for the Three Lions this month due to hip and thigh issues, will also be evaluated for fitness by Man City prior to the trip to West Ham.
While Grealish sustained his injury just before the Citizens’ victory over Fulham just before the international break, Stones hasn’t appeared for the club since the Citizens’ Community Shield loss to Arsenal on penalties at the beginning of August.
Kevin De Bruyne is still out for a while after having hamstring surgery, but manager Guardiola is reportedly planning to fly back to the UK on Wednesday after recovering from a back operation.
He might be in charge of the team against West Ham.
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