Ivušić Again Sidelined Due to Arm Injury
Hajduk visits Žalgiris on Thursday in the Conference League qualifiers, and coach Gonzalo García cannot count on the former Croatian international.
Hajduk visits Žalgiris on Thursday in the Conference League qualifiers, and coach Gonzalo García cannot count on the former Croatian international.
The Whites will play their first match of the third qualifying round of the Conference League on Thursday at 7 PM against Lithuanian side Žalgiris. The Split side enters this clash without goalkeeper Ivica Ivušić, who suffered a blow to his arm during training last week.
Coach Gonzalo García did not have the 31-year-old shot-stopper at his disposal in Sunday's league defeat to Varaždin, and he will also be absent in Lithuania. The exact nature of the injury has yet to be determined. Regardless, this situation does not affect the position of the first-choice goalkeeper, as Toni Silić has already become the undisputed starter. Dante Stipica and David Fesyuk are competing for a spot among the substitutes.
Ivušić arrived at Poljud in the summer of 2025 as a high-profile signing and the planned long-term solution between the posts. He started the season as a certain choice, making 18 appearances, eight of which were clean sheets. The turning point came on November 22, 2025, when Hajduk suffered a heavy defeat to Rijeka at Rujevica. According to Index.hr, the hosts won 5-0. Shortly after, a pubic bone issue sidelined Ivušić for the last four rounds of the autumn part of the championship and the winter preparations.
He returned to the pitch at the very end of the season, making his comeback appearance in the final round against Vukovar, where his team won 6-3. During the summer, he went through the preparatory cycle, getting a half in each of the test matches against Shkëndija and LNZ, but he spent all four of this season's European matches on the bench.
For the Split side, this will be their fifth appearance in Europe this season. In the earlier qualifying rounds, they beat Žilina and Pafos at home but lost the return legs away. Against the Slovaks, they advanced with an aggregate score of 3-2, while the Cypriots stopped them after extra time with an aggregate of 4-2.
The goalkeeper, whose value Transfermarkt estimates at one million euros, has a contract with Hajduk until the summer of 2029. In his rich career, he has played for Istra 1961, Olympiacos, Osijek, and Pafos.
