Croatian hero risks missing World Cup final.
Ivan Perisic, the man of the match in the Croatia vs England semi-final, is likely to miss the final against France due to a hamstring injury.
Perisic scored Croatia's equalizer, making it 1-1, and also hit the post with a shot in the second half against England. Following the victory against the Three Lions, the Inter midfielder was also voted Man of the Match.
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| Perisic suffered an injury after leading Croatia to the final. |
However, the constant strain of playing matches caused Perisic to suffer a thigh muscle strain. Yesterday (July 12th), he had to go to a hospital in Moscow to treat the newly sustained injury.
Reportedly, after the semi-final match, Perisic had to wrap an ice pack around his left thigh to reduce swelling.
This is the third consecutive time the Balkan team has had to play extra time at this World Cup. Therefore, the starting players were all rested during yesterday's training session for Croatia.
Coach Zlatko Dalic admitted that it is still too early to talk about the players' physical condition.
"My players have just enjoyed the joy of reaching the final and they have a day off to recover. I'm not ready to talk about the players' condition yet."
Before the match against England, Croatia faced quite a few personnel issues, but nobody complained. Everyone wanted to play and contribute. So I am very proud of my players."
If Ivan Perisic doesn't recover from his injury in time, coach Dalic will consider starting Kramaric or moving Brozovic to the left wing.
