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Croatia coach wishs Modric a speedy recovery

Xinhua, April 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

Croatian head coach Niko Kovac on Sunday wished Luka Modric a speedy recovery from a serious injury on Saturday in Spanish La Liga match against Malaga.

"I spoke with Luka and wished him a speedy recovery. I know it's not easy for him as he was again playing at his best and we could see how important he is for Real Madrid," Kovac said in the statement released on the website of the Croatian Football Federation.

"We all know how important Luka is for our team. I don't doubt that he will do everything to recover well. I still hope that he will be ready for the match against Italy but we will not force him. His health is the most important," Kovac added.

Modric went to the ground on Saturday in the 57th minute of Liga match against Malaga and his face expression showed he was in pain. At that moment his season has virtually ended.

Modric, 29, suffered another serious injury spraining his right knee medial collateral ligament. Tests carried out on Sunday morning at the Hospital Sanitas La Moraleja by the Real Madrid medical services confirmed the worst fears - Modric will be out of action around six weeks.

For Real Madrid that means they will have to chase Barcelona in the Spanish league title race without the help of the best defensive midfielder in the league. They can only hope for his return in the UEFA Champions League final on June 6 in Berlin. But, there is still long road to that match waiting the title holders.

First, they have to overtake local rivals Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals after a 0-0 draw at Vicente Calderon Stadium in the first leg. If they are successful, then they will still have to beat one of the top European clubs in two semifinal clashes.

Modric have only 16 La Liga appearances this season and 25 overall for "Los Blancos" as he spent four months healing his left hamstring muscle he injured during the international duty for Croatia in November 2014.

He returned to action in March 2015. New injury puts Modric in doubt for Croatia qualifiers in June when Niko Kovac troops will take on Italy in Split in the match that Croatia will have to play behind closed doors beacuse of the UEFA ban for fans behavior during the match against Norway in Zagreb on March 28. Endi