Ljubicic Recalled to Austria World Cup Squad as Baumgartner Injury Forces Change

Ljubicic Recalled to Austria World Cup Squad as Baumgartner Injury Forces Change

Dejan Ljubicic has been called into Austria's World Cup squad nearly three years after his last international appearance, drafted in as an emergency replacement for Christoph Baumgartner. Austria coach Ralf Rangnick confirmed the call-up late Wednesday after Baumgartner sustained a right thigh injury during the warm-up for a pre-tournament friendly against Tunisia the previous week, a setback that required surgery.

Ljubicic, a defensive midfielder, plays his club football for Schalke in Germany, who secured promotion from the second division last month. His profile differs from Baumgartner's: the injured player had scored 17 goals across all competitions for RB Leipzig in Germany during the previous season and was considered one of Austria's key creative outlets. Baumgartner has remained with the squad in a support capacity despite being ruled out of the tournament.

Ljubicic has earned nine caps for Austria. His most recent appearance came in a friendly against Moldova in September 2023, and he was not included in the squad for any of Austria's World Cup qualifying matches. He is set to link up with the squad at the team's camp in Santa Barbara on Thursday.

Austria open their World Cup campaign on Tuesday against Jordan in Group J, which also includes Argentina and Algeria. With Baumgartner unavailable and Ljubicic offering a more defensive midfield option, Rangnick will need to reconfigure his central midfield approach ahead of the group stage opener.