Dalic expects Modric fit to lead Croatia at World Cup after surgery

Croatia’s World Cup hopes again run through Luka Modric, after a broken cheekbone briefly threatened to interrupt one of the most durable international careers in European football. Coach Zlatko Dalic said he believed the 40-year-old midfielder would be fit to lead Croatia at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico after surgery, keeping the focus on whether the national side can still lean on a veteran who has already played in four World Cups.

Modric was injured in a clash of heads with Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli during AC Milan’s goalless draw on Sunday. Milan said the midfielder suffered a complex, multi-fragment fracture of the left zygomatic bone and underwent completely successful surgery at La Madonnina Clinic in Milan. The operation was performed by Dr. Luca Autelitano’s team, with club doctors Stefano Mazzoni and Andrea Bulgheroni present. The Croatian Football Federation also said the surgery was successful, and national-team medical staff remained in contact with both Modric and Milan.

The timing matters immediately for both club and country. Modric is expected to miss the rest of AC Milan’s Serie A season as the club chases a Champions League place with four matches left. Milan stood third on 67 points, with Juventus on 64 and Como on 61, leaving little margin in the table while one of its most experienced players recovers.

For Croatia, the bigger issue is structural. Dalic has already spoken with Modric and expressed confidence that he would do everything needed to be ready, and that Croatia would support him through recovery. The coach expects Modric, as captain, to be available for another major tournament this summer. That expectation speaks to the national team’s enduring dependence on a player who still shapes tempo, possession and dressing-room authority at an age when most outfield players have long since exited the international stage.

The 2026 World Cup begins on June 11, and Croatia opens against England on June 17. That matchup adds another layer of significance because Croatia and England met in the 2018 World Cup semifinals, when Croatia won in extra time. If Modric returns in time, the fifth World Cup of his career will underline both his longevity and Croatia’s continued reliance on an aging fulcrum at the heart of its ambitions.