Hajduk goalkeeper Ivica Ivusic sustained an injury during a weekly training session, ruling him out of the upcoming match. The player suffered a blow to the hand, and the severity of the injury is not yet known. As a result, he will not be available to coach Gonzalo Garcia on Thursday, when Hajduk travel to face Lithuanian side Zalgiris.
This is the first match of the third round of qualifying for the Conference League. The match is scheduled for 19:00. Ivusic was not in the squad for Sunday's defeat to Varazdin, indicating that the injury is disrupting his preparations for the European tie.
In Ivusic's absence, Toni Silic is expected to be the starting goalkeeper for Hajduk. It is expected that Dante Stipic and David Fesyak will be on the bench as backup goalkeepers. This is a new setback for Hajduk in this part of the season, given that the club has already played four European matches.
Hajduk have secured home victories against Zilina and Pafos in the qualifying rounds so far, while losing to both opponents in the away legs. The club advanced past the Slovak side on aggregate 3-2, but were eliminated by the Cypriot side after extra time with a 4-2 aggregate loss. Ivusic had been on the bench for all four European matches so far.
Ivusic joined Hajduk in the summer of 2025 as a long-term solution for the goalkeeper position. Last season, he was the undisputed starter, playing 18 matches, in eight of which he kept a clean sheet. However, he missed the last four matches of the first half of the season and the winter pre-season due to an injury to the pubic bone. His return occurred in the final six rounds of the previous season, and he made a comeback appearance in the final round of the championship when Hajduk defeated Vukovar 6-3. This season, he has trained with the team, keeping goal in the second half against Shkëndija and LNZ. He has signed a contract with Hajduk until the summer of 2029, with a market value of one million euros estimated by Transfermarkt.
