Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has emerged as an injury doubt for Saturday's Premier League visit to West Ham United.
The 29-year-old joined the Citizens from Chelsea this summer and has since made a bright start to life under manager Pep Guardiola, starting each of the club's opening five matches in all competitions.
Predominantly operating as a deep-lying midfielder, Kovacic featured in City's UEFA Super Cup win on penalties against Sevilla and has also helped the Citizens pick up a maximum 12 points from four Premier League matches.
Kovacic played for 84 minutes in City's thumping 5-1 home win over Fulham on September 2 before linking up with the Croatia squad on international duty ahead of Euro 2024 qualifiers against Latvia and Armenia.
However, Kovacic was not involved against Latvia last Friday and watched on as an unused substitute due to injury, with the midfielder revealing after the match that he would be "ready" for the Armenia clash on Tuesday.
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"I had some problems before the match with Latvia, but now I'm ready," Kovacic told reporters as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
"But I will try to do the last training to the maximum, and the coach will decide. The most ready will play. It's not easy to play every three days, but it's the way it is, there's no other way."
Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic confirmed that the decision to not play Kovacic was precautionary, adding: "Kovacic and [Lovro] Majer might have played against Latvia, but we wanted to preserve them. If Mateo is ready, he will be in the starting lineup, while Lovro will be among the substitutes."
However, Kovacic watched on from the substitutes' bench once again as Croatia won 1-0 away against Armenia, and he was not risked due to a muscle injury in his back according to Croatian news outlet Jutarnji List.
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The report states that Kovacic may have to undergo an MRI scan to determine the severity of the injury and he could be facing at least 10 days on the sidelines.
Kovacic would therefore miss Saturday's Premier League fixture against West Ham at the London Stadium as well as the Champions League group-stage opener at home against Red Star Belgrade next Tuesday.
Ahead of the trip to West Ham, Man City will also assess the fitness of England duo John Stones and Jack Grealish, who did not represent the Three Lions this month due to respective hip and thigh problems.
Stones has not played for the Citizens since the Community Shield defeat on penalties to Arsenal at the beginning of August, while Grealish picked up his injury shortly before the victory over Fulham prior to the international break.
Kevin De Bruyne remains a long-term absentee after undergoing hamstring surgery, but manager Guardiola is allegedly expected to return to England on Wednesday after recovering from a back operation and he could be in the dugout for the match against West Ham.
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