Fulham striker Aleksander Mitrovic might not be able to play through the pain barrier as much as normal due to the upcoming World Cup, according to journalist Dean Jones.
The Serbia international is currently out injured with a foot problem and Jones doesn’t believe he’ll be taking as many risks in the weeks ahead.
Having struggled in previous Premier League campaigns with Fulham, Mitrovic quickly to bed any doubts over whether he could perform at this level by banging in the goals in August and September.
But the 28-year-old suffered a setback during the first half of the defeat to Newcastle recently and was forced off.
Marco Silva revealed that the injury wasn't serious, but The Independent claimed the striker had done some damage to the ligaments in his foot.
As a result, Mitrovic missed Fulham's London derby against West Ham on Sunday and already appears to be in a race against time to be fit to face Bournemouth in a key match at Craven Cottage this weekend.
He told GIVEMESPORT: "Typically, I'd say that Mitrovic would be willing to play through pain and play through almost anything, but at the moment, that probably isn't quite the same because he will have half an eye on the World Cup.
"So, he can't take as much of a risk as he normally would. I think he'll probably be okay for the Bournemouth game, but if he's not there, then it's a huge blow to Fulham."
Mitrovic scored just three goals in his previous campaign at this level and 11 the one before that.
But some eight games into this season, the striker is already well on course to smash his best return at Premier League level.
He marked his top-flight return with a brace against Liverpool on the opening day and while he missed a penalty at Wolves the following week,
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