Surprise: Bayern star Stanisic called up by Croatia despite injury | OneFootball

FC Bayern has been facing a tense personnel situation in defense for weeks - and Josip Stanisic is among the absentees. It is all the more surprising that Croatian national coach Zlatko Dalic has now nominated the all-rounder for the World Cup qualifying matches in October.

Stanisic has been called up for the matches against the Czech Republic (October 9) and Gibraltar (October 12) in the 24-man squad. Apparently, Dadic expects the 24-year-old to return soon. At the same time, he also announced a list of twelve possible replacements.

The Bayern professional was injured in the Champions League match against FC Chelsea (3:1) shortly after half-time and had to be substituted. While Stanisic initially spoke of "nothing dramatic" and Sporting Director Christoph Freund emphasized that the ligaments were stable, the diagnosis later turned out to be more serious: a partial tear of the medial ligament.

Kompany's cautious forecast

Coach Vincent Kompany explained before the Bundesliga match in Hoffenheim that his defender would have to take a break for about one to two weeks. "There's still the international break. He might be able to return after that," said the Belgian.

So it remains to be seen whether Stanisic will be able to play during the international break or only afterwards. One thing is clear: Bayern could really use his return. With Alphonso Davies (torn cruciate ligament) and Hiroki Ito (metatarsal fracture) two more defenders are missing long-term, and Minjae Kim was also recently injured. At least Raphael Guerreiro is available again, even if he hasn't had any match practice yet.

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