Midfielder Ivan Rakitic will not help his team in a duel with the Turks.

The Barcelona midfielder was in the first team for the home match of the selection for the 2018 World Cup against Kosovo, but was replaced on the 55th minute.

According to the official twitter of the Croatian Football Union, Rakitic has minor damage.

Doctors of the Croatian national team recommended to the player and the coaching staff not to take part in the match against Turkey, and therefore Rakitic did not even go together with the team.

Recall that the national teams of Croatia and Turkey are rivals of Ukrainians in Group I. Turkey is on the 4th place, behind the leaders, which are "checkered", by 5 points after 7 matches. Ukraine is the second with a two-point gap from Croats.