Out injured for 1,245 days! Ex-Buli star fights for future at World Cup | OneFootball

A brief crack in the knee — the cruciate ligament is torn, and football is off the table for six months. Saša Kalajdžić has lived through this nightmare scenario several times. Within five years, he even suffered three cruciate ligament tears. A reason to quit? Not for the Austrian.

In just a few days, the former Bundesliga star will play in his first World Cup at the age of 28. Back in the football spotlight, the striker will also be playing for his future at the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

“It was a relief, and I somehow enjoyed it too,” Kalajdžić said, describing his feelings after his international comeback in March 2026 against Ghana. Ralf Rangnick called up the 2-meter man to the Austria squad for the first time since November 2023. Before that, he had once again made a name for himself with his performances in the Austrian Bundesliga.

As fate’s irony sometimes has it, he could now benefit in the national team from an injury to a rival.

After the third cruciate ligament tear of his career, he moved on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Linz in the summer of 2025. At LASK, Kalajdžić became a leader above all in the second half of the season and, with 18 goal contributions in 29 matches, played a key role in winning the league title and the cup. It was only in winter that the striker truly realized he could still compete at the highest level, as he revealed in an interview with 'FIFA.com':

“Winter preparation was worth its weight in gold for me, when we had three friendlies against two European opponents — opponents also playing in the Europa League or the Conference League. And then in the first competitive match against Blau-Weiß Linz in the cup, where I scored and provided an assist. That was basically my first real sign of life, where I said: Okay, I’m back.”

Will that first real sign of life in winter now be followed by a return to football’s biggest stage?

Just a few years ago, Kalajdžić was operating on a level far above the Austrian Bundesliga. In the 2020/21 season, he scored 16 goals in 33 league matches for VfB Stuttgart. A year later, he even moved to the Premier League. Wolverhampton Wanderers paid 18 million euros for the 2-meter man, who at that point was valued at 25 million according to 'Transfermarkt.de'.

After just one match came the shock: Kalajdžić suffered the second of his total of three cruciate ligament tears and has managed only a meager 16 appearances for the English club in four years to date. Will there be more in the future?

It is unclear what comes next for the striker this summer. At the end of May, he announced his departure from LASK, and for now he is returning to Wolves. Luckily, there is still that ominous World Cup to recommend himself to a new club. And for the past few days, it has also been clear that Ralf Rangnick needs the striker more than ever.

📸 Michael Steele - 2025 Getty Images

The reason: Christoph Baumgartner has been ruled out of the World Cup at short notice. The Bundesliga star from Leipzig suffered an injury to his right thigh before the 1-0 friendly win over Tunisia. In that warm-up match, fellow striker Michael Gregoritsch moved into Baumgartner’s position. Kalajdžić, meanwhile, is now the first option up front behind Marco Arnautović. If necessary, however, he could also play just behind Arnautović.

Once again, the towering striker proved last season that alongside his tremendous finishing ability, he also has quality as a provider. “I’m someone who can bring those kinds of players into the game, and that’s why one or two extra assists come along,” Kalajdžić also told 'FIFA.com'. Maybe with one or two assists in the group matches against Jordan, Argentina and Algeria, he can also put himself in the shop window for potential teams. Anyone who comes back like this after three cruciate ligament tears would certainly deserve it.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Christian Bruna - 2026 Getty Images