Another key Croatia star from semi-final win over England ruled out

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has confirmed that crucial midfielder Ivan Rakitic has returned to Barcelona due to injury, Sky Sports reports.

The 30-year-old will miss the crucial showdown with England at Wembley on Sunday having suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-2 win over Spain.

That result blew Group 4 of League A wide open and ensured that both Croatia and England could still qualify ahead of La Roja with a victory. Conversely, if either side loses they will be relegated to League B, while a score draw would see Gareth Southgate’s side drop down and a goalless draw would condemn the World Cup finalists to the same fate.

Dalic’s quotes suggest that Rakitic could be out for some time, with a crucial match against Atletico on the horizon along with two Champions League matches and a local derby with high-flying Espanyol in the next month.

The Croatia coach stated: "He will go to Barcelona, it's a serious injury. You know that I usually take no risk. If there is a doubt that the injury could be serious, then we let him rest.

"We want healthy players and Ivan in this moment is not 100 per cent ready. Unfortunately, we are going to play without him."

Rakitic’s quality and experience - with over 100 international caps to his name - will be a big loss against an England side out for revenge following their semi-final defeat to Croatia in the World Cup. The visitors to London will be without goalkeeper Danijel Subasic and match winner Mario Mandzukic (both retired) from their win back in July, as well as left-back Ivan Strinic (injured), but Dalic is confident he has the players to stand in for the Barca star.

"We will see who will replace him. We have (Mateo) Kovacic, we have (Josip) Brekalo, we have (Milan) Badelj," Dalic said.