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The last time Dejan Ljubicic played for Austria was almost three years ago. Now, a teammate’s injury has given him a surprise comeback in the World Cup.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick called up Ljubicic on Wednesday night to replace key 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 will join Austria at the team’s camp in Santa Barbara on Thursday, ahead of the team’s first game on Tuesday against Jordan. Austria also plays 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 has remained in the camp to support the team.
Ljubicic also plays in Germany for the Schalke team, which won promotion from the second division last month.
Ljubicic has nine caps for Austria, but none in a major tournament. His last appearance was in a friendly against Moldova in September 2023 and he was not in the squad for any World Cup qualifiers.
Information from The Associated Press.
