The international break is a dreaded pause to the league system in football. The biggest fear for any club is that their players will come back injured and that has often been the problem for the likes of Daniel Sturridge. Dejan Lovren, however, has taken a dramatic step for this international break by ruling himself out of Croatia’s two games.

The former Southampton defender didn’t even provide a reason as to why he would be missing the games next week.

“I will keep to myself the reasons why I asked Cacic to relieve me of my international duties for these two games,” Lovren told Croatian media.

Croatia are to play Northern Ireland in a friendly and a World Cup qualifier against Iceland in the break. The European side is currently top of their group for World Cup qualification ahead of second-placed Iceland.

Major issues between Lovren and Croatia coach

This is not the first time there has been acrimony between Lovren and the Croatia coach, Ante Cacic. The 27-year-old Liverpool defender did fallout with Cacic in March. This ensured that the former Southampton man missed out in Euro 2016.

Lovren was upset at being an unused substitute in a game against Hungary, which ended 1-1, and had a go at the coach. Cacic did not take this lightly and stated that Lovren would only return to the side if he was ready to play for the team.

The 27-year-old did return to the side and was an unused substitute against Turkey in the World Cup qualifiers but was not part of the side in the wins over Kosovo and Finland.

Even though there are issues between the pair, Lovren did state that he would be available for selection in the future.

“I am still here and will make myself available for the upcoming games, hoping to earn another chance with good performances at club level.”

A mixed season for Lovren

While Liverpool have enjoyed a great season so far, there have been questions about their defence. Lovren and Joel Matip have formed a great partnership but there still are a number of problems when it comes to keeping a clean sheet.

The Reds have only kept one clean sheet in the Premier League all season and many pundits believe a porous defence is the one thing that will harm Liverpool this season.

The goal difference could be a major factor in deciding the title, something which affected the Liverpool of Brendan Rodgers. Hopefully, Lovren can ensure the Reds are tighter in defence and can keep their momentum going.

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