Croatia's Rakitic ruled out of England clash with 'serious' injury

Croatia's hopes of avoiding relegation in the Nations League were dealt a massive blow Friday with news that Ivan Rakitic will miss Sunday's decisive encounter against England.

The midfielder will return to Barcelona to receive treatment for an undisclosed injury he picked up in Thursday's 3-2 win over Spain, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic revealed.

"He will go to Barcelona, it's a serious injury," Dalic told reporters, according to Joe Shread of Sky Sports. "You know that I usually take no risk. If there is a doubt that the injury could be serious, then we let him rest.

"We want healthy players and Ivan in this moment is not 100 percent ready."

Rakitic, who has 102 caps for Croatia, only managed to play 68 minutes against Spain before coming off.

Dalic has not decided who will replace the 30-year-old for Sunday's match.

Croatia needs to win or produce a scoring draw against England at Wembley Stadium in order to avoid relegation from the top tier of the Nations League.