Mateo Kovacic to have surgery on Achilles injury, expected to miss around three months
Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has undergone surgery for an Achilles injury and is expected to be sidelined for around three months, according to Croatia national team head coach Zlatko Dalic.
Kovacic is set to miss City's Club World Cup campaign, which begins on June 18 against Moroccan side Wydad AC. City's other Group E opponents are Abu-Dhabi based Al Ain and Serie A's Juventus.
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City confirmed on Monday morning that Kovacic has undergone an operation on his Achilles.
'Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery,' a club statement read.
Dalic also said that the injury caused the 31-year-old to miss last month's FA Cup final. Crystal Palace beat City 1-0 on May 17 as the south London club won their first ever major trophy.
Kovacic was not included in the Croatia squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar on June 6 and the Czech Republic on June 9.
'Mateo has been suffering from an injury for some time, which is why he missed the FA Cup final against Manchester City,' said Dalic. 'It's a heel tendon. In agreement with the club doctors, he decided to have surgery, and he should be out for about three months.'
Kovacic featured regularly under Pep Guardiola this season, making 42 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven goals. He has played 88 times for the club since joining from Chelsea in June 2023 for an initial fee of £25million, plus £5million in add-ons.
After beginning his career at Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, Kovacic moved to Real Madrid in 2013, where he won the Champions League three times and also lifted the La Liga trophy.
He signed for Chelsea on loan in August 2018 and joined permanently the following year, and won his fourth Champions League in 2021.
Kovacic made his Croatia debut in 2013 and has been capped 110 times by the team, helping the side reach the final of the 2018 World Cup, where they were defeated 4-2 by France.
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