Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren has withdrawn from Croatia's squad with an abdominal injury to give club manager Brendan Rodgers a potential defensive headache. The defender was due to play in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers against Bulgaria on Friday and Azerbaijan on Monday but sustained a problem in training which has ruled him out.
"During training on Wednesday Lovren felt pain in the abdominal wall. Igor Boric (a specialist) at St Catherine (Hospital) showed there was a tear and he will not be ready for performances in Sofia and Osijek," said a statement on the Croatian Football Federation's website.
Lovren is set to return to Merseyside in the next couple of days, where he will undergo further assessment by the medical team at the club's Melwood training ground. Liverpool have ten days before their next match and if Lovren's injury is only minor then it may actually benefit them to have him back early to prepare for the trip to Queens Park Rangers.
Rodgers is confident Daniel Sturridge will be fit following his thigh injury for the trip to London. But Lovren's problem, coupled with a thigh injury to Mamadou Sakho sustained in training just days after he walked out of Anfield having been omitted from the squad for the Merseyside derby, means his only two fit central defenders are Martin Skrtel - currently with Slovakia for matches against Spain and Belarus - and Kolo Toure.
Source: FIFA.com