Bosnia and Herzegovina head coach Sergej Barbarez confirmed serious injuries to two key players at a media conference ahead of the new Nations League cycle. Amar Dedić and Kenan Busuladžić will be unavailable for the upcoming four matches, dealing a major blow to the Dragons as they enter a run of four games in 11 days following a five-match winless streak.
Barbarez informed reporters at the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina premises in Sarajevo. "I would like to say a few technical things regarding the extent of Amar Dedić’s injury." the coach said. Dedić will be sidelined for three to four weeks with the muscle issue, ruling him out of the fixtures against Poland, Romania, Sweden and Poland again.
The team will also be without Kenan Busuladžić for an extended period. "We also miss Kenan Busuladžić. He will not be in the game for nine months because he tore his cruciate ligaments," Barbarez stated. These two absences have forced the coaching staff into urgent squad changes. Young players Benjamin Tahirović, Ajdin Hasić, Arjan Malić and Luka Đurić, who recently moved to the Bundesliga, have received call-ups as replacements.
The health bulletin was a main topic of Barbarez's address. Kerim Alajbegović, who felt pain in his hip during Juventus's match against Atalanta, is travelling to Sarajevo for assessment. The coaching staff expects he may need a day or two of rest before joining preparations. This situation further tests the squad depth of a national team that has recorded three defeats and two draws in its last five official outings.
The first Nations League test awaits the Dragons on September 25 away to Poland in Warsaw. Three days later, on September 28, they face Romania in Bucharest. Afterwards, the team returns to home soil in Zenica, where they will host Sweden on October 2 and play the return match against Poland on October 5. This demanding schedule follows a 2-0 defeat to the USA in July, and details of all upcoming commitments can be found on our fixtures page.
The selection is currently going through a difficult results period, but Barbarez and his staff must find solutions within the available squad. The call-ups for Đurić, Hasić, Tahirović and Malić show that faith is being placed in young talent. The complete list of all players available to the selector is accessible on the squad page. The first step towards improving form will be the encounter with Poland in Warsaw in less than five days.
The report in full is at sarajevotimes.com
