{"id":6321,"date":"2026-04-28T09:36:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/croatias-modric-undergoes-facial-surgery-but-aims-to-be-fit-for-world-cup\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:36:53","slug":"croatias-modric-undergoes-facial-surgery-but-aims-to-be-fit-for-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/croatias-modric-undergoes-facial-surgery-but-aims-to-be-fit-for-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Croatia\u2019s Modric undergoes facial surgery but aims to be fit for World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Luka Modric suffered a facial \u2060fracture in AC Milan\u2019s game against Juventus and underwent surgery the following day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Luka Modric has undergone \u2060a successful surgery after \u2060fracturing his left cheekbone and is expected to be fit for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the Croatian Football Federation said.<\/p>\n

The AC Milan midfielder sustained the injury following a clash of heads with Juventus \u2060midfielder Manuel Locatelli during Sunday\u2019s 0-0 Serie A draw at the San Siro and underwent surgery on Monday, weeks before the 40-year-old \u2060is due to participate in his fifth World Cup.<\/p>\n

Modric left the field with 10 minutes left in the game, and although clearly in pain, he remained on the bench until the end without receiving medical treatment.<\/p>\n

Tests revealed a fracture to his left cheekbone, and Modric underwent surgery hours later.<\/p>\n

Milan said it was \u201ca complex, multi-fragment fracture of the left zygomatic bone\u201d, but the operation \u201cwas completely successful\u201d.<\/p>\n

The club did not say how long Modric will be sidelined. However, only four rounds remain in Serie A.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe club wishes Luka a speedy recovery ahead of the FIFA World Cup!\u201d Milan added.<\/p>\n

\"AC
Modric will play in his fifth World Cup if he represents Croatia in the 2026 tournament [Stefano Rellandini\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Croatian federation said national medical staff remained in contact with Modric, who captains the side, as well as his club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been talking to Luka, and wished him a successful surgery and a quality and speedy recovery,\u201d Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic said in \u2060a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am convinced that he will \u2060do everything to be ready for the World Cup, and we\u2019ll provide full support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am confident that the recovery will go according to plan and that \u2060Luka, as team captain, will lead us at another major competition this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milan are \u2060third in the standings, 12 points behind \u2060leaders Inter Milan with four games remaining, and Modric is doubtful to take any part in their season run-in. A protective mask may be needed should \u200che recover in time for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Modric is in the final months of his contract with Milan, having signed a one-year deal last summer following 13 trophy-filled seasons at Real Madrid. He has an option to extend the contract for another year.<\/p>\n

The World Cup, cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, starts on June \u200c11, \u200cand Croatia will face England on June 17, Ghana on June 23 and Panama on June 27 in Group L.<\/p>\n

\"INTERACTIVE-Football<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Luka Modric suffered a facial \u2060fracture in AC Milan\u2019s game against Juventus and underwent surgery the following day. Luka Modric has undergone \u2060a successful surgery after \u2060fracturing his left cheekbone and is expected to be fit for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the Croatian Football Federation said. The AC Milan midfielder sustained the injury following … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}