Croatia have suffered another hammerblow ahead of their must-win World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on October 14 with news that Mladen Petric has joined fellow strike partner Eduardo out injured.
Croatia need a win in their final match in Group Six to boost their chances of bagging a playoff place ahead of Ukraine, England having already secured qualification.
Ukraine trail the Croatians by two points yet have two games remaining, against England and Andorra.
Petric picked up an injury for his Hamburg club during a Bundesliga game against Hertha Berlin on the weekend.
The Croatian football federation said that the striker could be benched for up to eight weeks because of the injury.
Brazilian-born sharpshooter Eduardo will likely miss the Kazakhstan game after aggravating a thigh problem in Arsenal’s Champions League win over Olympiakos, federation spokesman Davor Gavran said Friday.
The Croatians will in any case be without Spurs midfielder Luka Modric, goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa and potentially defender Josip Simunic.
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