Euro 2012: Croatia relief as Corluka gets the all-clear

CROATIA coach Slaven Bilic breathed a huge sigh of relief yesterday on hearing that defender Vedran Corluka has been given the all-clear by doctors to play in the Euro 2012 finals.

Corluka, regarded as Croatia’s best defender, complained of an injury to his left hamstring at training on Thursday, but doctors in Warsaw cleared him to play in Croatia’s Group C opener against the Republic of Ireland tomorrow.

“They’ve done a scan this morning, and the scan showed, thank God, nothing, no rupture ... so we are expecting him to play on Sunday,” Bilic said. “It is a relief because Corluka is one of our generals, like a senator, and he’s the leader of the defence and he’s one of the most important players for us.”

Bilic denied that the Ireland game was make-or-break. “Nothing will be decided after the first game. We can come closer to pass the group stage or make our chances lesser.”