The Croatian Football Federation (Hrvatski nogometni savez) announced on Friday, 6 November, that Andrej Kramarić (35) would not be available for the final two Nations League matches against England and Czechia due to health issues. Manager Slaven Bilić confirmed they had spoken after Hoffenheim’s match against Crystal Palace, in which Kramarić played the full 90 minutes.
Bilić explained the course of events at a press conference the following day. "I watch all the matches, I watched him against Crystal Palace in a game that should be very important for rhythm. He plays well. After that, I watch Dinamo. Andrej’s message arrives, we spoke for about ten minutes. I am glad he is back in rhythm. He told me he has problems with his patella and that he cannot train normally for two or three days after the match. We agreed he would skip this gathering and that is it," Bilić said.
However, two days after the Croatian Football Federation announced his absence, on Sunday, 8 November, Kramarić was indeed included in Hoffenheim’s starting lineup for the league match against Schalke. He spent 70 minutes on the pitch.
Kramarić’s problems began before the 2026 World Cup. During national team preparations at the end of May, he admitted he had been suffering from health issues for some time. "Everything is OK, it has been going on for a while, and the manager will know if there is any problem," he said at the time. At the tournament in Canada, the USA and Mexico, he had a peripheral role. Then-manager Zlatko Dalić did not include him in the starting lineup in any match. He came on in the 78th minute against England, played the second half against Panama, stayed on the bench against Ghana, and only got a chance in stoppage time against Portugal in the round of 16. In total, he played 59 minutes in three appearances at the tournament.
Following the health issues at the World Cup, there was an operation, and then a loss of place in Hoffenheim’s starting lineup. Hoffenheim announced in early July that Kramarić had undergone abdominal wall surgery, with which he had problems before the World Cup. The procedure was carried out on 8 July and was successful. Kramarić had been one of Hoffenheim’s most important players for years, their all-time top scorer and a practically irreplaceable member of the starting lineup. In the first five official matches of the new season, he accumulated less than 70 minutes, coming on from the bench each time, and had neither a goal nor an assist.
Bilić, who succeeded Zlatko Dalić after the World Cup, included him on his first list, published on 7 September. He called up eight strikers, explaining that he wanted to see them during the four Nations League matches. Kramarić did not get a chance against Czechia, England or Spain. After starting from the first minute against Beşiktaş in the Europa League, manager Christian Ilzer explained that experience and previous merits were not enough for a place in the starting lineup. "As a manager, you cannot give away minutes. You have to earn them with your performances. This often creates a difficult situation, which you must communicate well with the player," Ilzer said.
Kramarić began providing significantly better performances at the end of October. In the 3:0 victory against Lyon in the Europa League, he scored a goal and recorded two assists. Three days later, he was key against Bayer Leverkusen. He came on in the 65th minute with the score 0:0, scored from a penalty and assisted in a new 3:0 victory. In just two matches, he achieved a record of two goals and three assists. After the match with Lyon, he admitted that he needed time to return to competitive rhythm after the operation. "I needed time to get back. I am still not at one hundred per cent and I feel I have a lot of room for improvement," he said.
Kramarić’s status became a topic again after it was confirmed on 6 November that he would not attend the gathering. Bilić spoke in detail about their relationship at a press conference the next day and explained why the striker had not played in the previous cycle. "It was a specific situation with him. I can tell everything, but it will take a few minutes. He was the third or fourth I called, it was after his operation. There is writing about cuts. I call him, he is operated on and returning. But he is not returned. My first call, I want him to be there. Everything is new. In the first match against Czechia, he was supposed to come on. They equalised and he needed to be in the game. I called him, but we scored for 2:1 and the concept changes. No one is happy about it, but it happens," Bilić said.
He also explained why Kramarić did not get a chance in the remaining matches, while dismissing the possibility that a conflict had arisen between them. "In my assessment, and I make decisions and it does not matter who is what, it was not the moment to bring him on. Did it weigh on him? He is extremely polite. Certainly, he is not happy, but he did not cross the line for a second. I told him that I respect that. I did not apologise to him, I have no reason to because I did nothing wrong," Bilić stated.
