Lovren Out of Croatia’s Squad for 2016 Euro Qualifiers

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has pulled out of Croatia’s squad with an abdominal injury.

The centre-back was initially named in coach Niko Kovac’s team for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Azerbaijan on Friday and Monday respectively but got injured in training.

Lovren, 25, is set to return to Merseyside within the next two days and will undergo further assessment by the medical team at the club’s Melwood training facility.

Dejan Lovren Injured on International Duty, Set to Return back to Anfield.
Dejan Lovren Injured on International Duty, Set to Return back to Anfield.

“During training on Wednesday Lovren felt pain in the abdominal wall. Igor Boric (a specialist) at St Catherine (Hospital) showed there was a tear and he will not be ready for performances in Sofia and Osijek,” said a statement on the Croatian Football Federation’s website.

The development means coach Brendan Rodgers’ only two fit defenders- at the moment- are Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure, with Mamadou Sakho also out with a thigh injury.

Skrtel is currently with Slovakia for matches against Spain and Belarus.