Josip Juranović, the 31-year-old right-back of Union Berlin, has withdrawn from the Croatian national team squad for the League of Nations matches in September and October. According to sources close to the player, the reason is not an illness as reported by German media, but an Achilles tendon injury.
Juranović informed head coach Slaven Bilić that on Monday he would not be fit to play for the national team. Bilić had been counting on him as a left back and had assigned him a specific role. The coach had expected Juranović to cover the left back position. Juranović missed the fourth-round match of the Bundesliga against Bayern on Friday, in which Union Berlin suffered a heavy 0-7 defeat. Since Monday, he has not been present at club training, and the club has stated that he is unwell. The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) has not received any information, having learned of the Achilles injury through other channels.
Jovan has been dealing with injury issues for some time. In the last two seasons, he has missed numerous matches, but at the start of this season, he played regularly and well, recording two assists in three appearances. The problems have returned. His last appearance for the national team was on 6 June 2025, against Gibraltar in a 7-0 away victory, when he played his 40th cap for Croatia. In total, he has 40 caps and is still waiting for his first goal.
Bilić stated that he had called Jovan to ask if he could play on the left, to which he received a positive response. Josip is a right-back, but in the past, he played as a central midfielder, and the coach mentioned that 25 per cent of his matches were played as a left back. The biggest match for him as a left back was the 1-0 victory over France in 2022 at the Stade de France, while his match of a lifetime was against Brazil in 2022 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Bilić has no solution for the left back position and must find an alternative. There is no right back available on the preliminary list, but the option is Ivan Perišić, who played in that position at the World Cup and told Bilić that he is willing to continue playing in that position. Joško Gvardiol also plays as a left back, but Bilić sees him as a centre-back. There is also Josip Stanišić, another right-back who can play on the left. Bilić could call up centre-backs Mario Pašalić or Josip Stanišić.
Croatia's schedule at the start of the League of Nations: 26 September Czech Republic vs Croatia in Prague, 29 September Spain vs Croatia in Seville, 3 October Croatia vs England in Rijeka without spectators, and 6 October Croatia vs Spain in Split. Bilić will speak at a press conference on Monday at 11:00. The invitations sent two weeks in advance are necessary because, according to FIFA regulations, clubs must release a player who has received a call-up at least 14 days in advance. The coach has the option to activate someone at the last minute if their club has no objection.
