Real Madrid's Luka Jovic Suffers Injury Relapse, Ruled out of Serbia Clash
September 8, 2019
Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic has been ruled out of Serbia's 2020 UEFA European Championship qualifier against Luxembourg on Tuesday after suffering an injury relapse.
Jovic picked up the problem during Serbia's 4-2 defeat to Portugal on Sunday, according to a statement from the Serbian Football Federation (h/t Carlos Forjanes at AS).
"In the game against Portugal he suffered a relapse from an injury he was suffering from when he joined up with the national squad, and having been examined by the medics, it has been determined that he won't be able to play this Tuesday against Luxembourg," the statement read.
The 21-year-old did not start the loss to Portugal in Belgrade and only arrived after 87 minutes as a substitute for Luka Milivojevic.
The news will be a further blow to the youngster, who has endured an injury-interrupted start to life at Real Madrid following his £57.7 million summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The forward suffered an ankle problem in pre-season that forced him onto the bench for Real Madrid's La Liga games against Celta Vigo and Real Valladolid. Jovic started Real Madrid's 2-2 draw with Villarreal but is still yet to score his first goal for his new club.
He did manage to make an impact in the game with a backheeled assist for Gareth Bale, as shown by La Liga:
Real Madrid will be hoping the injury is not too serious and Jovic is not sidelined for long. Los Blancos return to La Liga action Saturday against Levante and then take on French champions Paris Saint-Germain in their first UEFA Champions League group fixture.
The club have seen a number of key players sidelined in the early weeks of the season. Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio, Brahim Diaz, Rodrygo, Isco and James Rodriguez are all currently out, per Transfermarkt.
Hazard has yet to make his debut since joining from Chelsea. He returned to training Friday but "only completed half of the session," according to J.I. Garcia-Ochoa of Marca.
Meanwhile, Gareth Bale will miss the game against Levante due to suspension after being sent off against Villarreal:
Jovic's injury will be of concern to manager Zinedine Zidane given the other injuries to his attackers and the fact his team have made a slow start to the 2019-20 season. Los Blancos have won only of their first three games and are already four points behind Atletico Madrid.