Mateo Kovacic adds to mounting Man City injury list ahead of Liverpool FC fixture

Mateo Kovacic is the latest Manchester City player to withdraw from international duty, following Ederson and Nathan Ake in the last two days.

Ake picked up an injury in training last week and didn't travel with the City team down to Chelsea in the Premier League, promptly pulling out of the Netherlands squad for their final fixtures of 2023. On Monday, goalkeeper Ederson withdrew from the Brazil squad due to a foot injury picked up against Chelsea - a game where he played 90 minutes.

And now Kovacic has joined the mounting injury list, as he won't join up with Croatia for their must-win fixtures with Latvia and Armenia.

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Kovacic came off the bench at Stamford Bridge and was involved in Rodri's late goal that looked to be a winner until Cole Palmer's late penalty. He played until the end, but the Croatian national team posted on X that he will miss the two Euro 2024 qualifiers this month due to a muscle injury.

His national team manager, Zlatko Dalic, said: "Mateo Kovacic also felt a muscle last night [Sunday], so he will not come today. He is staying in Manchester for a check-up."

The midfielder joins a growing injury list that saw John Stones pick up a recurrence of his own muscle injury last week, forcing him to miss England's fixtures in November. While Pep Guardiola said Stones' diagnosis is better than first feared, there were no timescales put on his recovery and no guarantees he would be ready to face Liverpool at the Etihad in 11 days.

Sergio Gomez is another absentee after picking up an injury in training, with hopes he can return after the international