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The last time Dejan Ljubicic played for Austria was almost three years ago. Now, a teammate’s injury allows him to make a surprise return to the World Cup.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick called up Ljubicic on Wednesday evening to replace midfielder Christoph Baumgartner, who injured his right thigh while warming up for a pre-World Cup friendly against Tunisia last week and required surgery.
Ljubicic is expected to join Austria at the team camp in Santa Barbara on Thursday, ahead of the team’s first match on Tuesday against Jordan. Austria also faces Argentina and Algeria in Group J.
He is more of a defensive midfield option than Baumgartner, who scored 17 goals in all competitions for Leipzig in Germany last season and remained in camp to support the team.
Ljubicic also plays in Germany for the Schalke team which earned promotion to the second division last month.
Ljubicic has nine matches for Austria, but none in a major tournament. His last appearance came in a friendly match against Moldova in September 2023 and he was not in the squad for any World Cup qualifying matches.
Associated Press reporting.
