Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has been ruled out of the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup following surgery to repair an Achilles tendon injury, the Premier League champions announced on Monday.
The Croatian international has been struggling with the injury for some time and was absent from City’s 1-0 FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace last month.
“Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation, and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery,” the club said in a statement.
As a result of the surgery, the 31-year-old has also been left out of Croatia’s squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar on June 6 and the Czech Republic on June 9.
Kovacic made 42 appearances for City in all competitions this past season, scoring seven goals.
Manchester City are set to begin their Club World Cup campaign in the United States on June 18, where they will face Wydad AC.
