Croatia excuse Luka Modric from Estonia friendly in Tallinn
Modric and Ivan Rakitic have been excused from taking part in Tuesday's friendly at A. Le Coq Arena. Both players will return to Spain but Mateo Kovacic remains with the squad.
Good news for Real Madrid and Barcelona. Croatia have excused Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic from the remainder of this month's international commitments and both players will return to Spain to rejoin their respective clubs. Modric and Rakitic will not take part in Tuesday's friendly meeting with Estonia in Tallinn. But Mateo Kovacic, who only played 12 minutes of Croatia's 1-0 win over Ukraine in Zagreb on Friday, will remain with the squad and is expected to feature in the starting line-up on Tuesday.
Modric on his way back to Madrid
Apart from not running the risk of getting injured, Modric will also get the chance to rest and won't have to make the 1625 kilometre round trip from Zagreb to Tallinn. The Croatia captian played the full 90 minutes of Friday's qualifier against Ukraine - the result keeps Ante Čačić's team top of Group I where they are three points clear of Iceland and have half-booked their ticket to 2018 Russia. Rakitic played 78 minutes of the match, making way for Kovacic.
Modric and Bale back for Monday's early evening session
Zidane will have Modric back for Monday's session - the first training session of the week is booked for 17:00 hours and will be held behind closed doors. The Madrid coach will be starting preparations for Sunday's league game against Alavés. Gareth Bale, who starred for Wales in Friday's 0-0 draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, is also due back in the capital.
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