Croatia breathed new life into their European Qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Bulgaria.

Head coach Ante Cacic said afterwards that Modric was taken off simply as a precaution, but the Croatian Football Association’s medical staff have now confirmed he will sit out Tuesday’s encounter.

Real Madrid’s Luka Modric is a doubt for this weekend’s clash against Levante after suffering a leg injury on worldwide duty.

Luka Modric will not be able to feature in Croatia’s match against Malta next week, according to the following statement released by the Croatian national team.

Croatia’s Ivan Perišić managed to score as early as the 2nd minute of the first half, and the second goal followed in the 42nd minute by Ivan Rakitić. Rakitic played a neat one-two pass with Fiorentina forward Nikola Kalinic and Barcelona midfielder didn’t have trouble to put the ball in the net. Kalinic then completed the scoring from close range in the 81st minute following a precise cross from Perisic.

Croatia ended the game with 10 men after substitute Duje Cop was shown a red card for a reckless tackle on Bulgaria’s Strahil Popov with two minutes remaining.

With its win in Azerbaijan, Italy leads Group H standings with 21 points and with one match remaining, and has earned its place at EURO 2016.

Croatia were back on top form under Cacic, who last month replaced the sacked Niko Kovac, as they bounced back from disappointing performances in their previous two games.