Rakitic to miss Croatia qualifier through injury

Rakitic will miss Croatia's Euro 2020 qualifier against Slovakia on Saturday.

Croatia sit top of Group E but only two points clear of Hungary with one game left to play.

Rakitic will also be unavailable for Barca's charity match against Cartagena on Wednesday, along with Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo, who are suffering from hamstring and calf problems respectively.

Gerard Pique, Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto have been named in a youthful squad for the friendly, which will see ticket proceeds donated to victims of the floods around Cartagena in September.

ta/cw