As the World Cup approaches, capturing the interest of the entire planet, the biggest football spectacle unfolds in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Every team will battle for the trophy and the title of the world's best over the next four years. While Serbia is not participating, there will be "Serbian" players. One of them has quite a tragic story.

A source of pride for Serbia, though this may be an understatement, is Marko Arnautović, born in Badovinci in Serbia but now playing for Austria. Another Serbian player, Saša Kalajdžić, has also been invited to join this selection as a player for LASK.

Saša Kalajdžić is the one with a rather tragic past, but he could become the swan from the famous fairytale. He was highly valued and transferred for 19 million euros, and now he is expected to shine at the World Cup after spending 1,055 days away from football due to injuries.

At 28 years old, Kalajdžić has had his career marred by injuries. He began with Admir Vaker and suffered a metatarsal fracture, missing 25 matches in his first senior season. Later, he had issues with his knee and ankle, missing another 140 days of training.

Despite this, he managed a transfer to Stuttgart, where he tore his cruciate ligaments just two weeks after signing. This sidelined him for another 300 days. He then had another injury that kept him out, and in the fall of 2022, he tore his cruciate ligaments again.

"Two weeks after signing with Stuttgart, I suffered my first knee injury. Now, I am living in fear. I cannot change this. If my return is like the last time, I am very excited about everything that lies ahead - and fans can be excited too," Kalajdžić said while recovering from his second cruciate ligament tear, this time as a player for Wolverhampton.

He recalled the moment when the doctor told him he needed to see him: "When the doctor said 'Saša, come with me,' I knew something was serious. If it were good news, he would have said, 'Saša, I have good news, everything is fine.' Instead, he said, 'Please come to my office.' I felt a small shock. I felt something, but it wasn't like last time. I played for another six or seven minutes until halftime and felt something wasn't quite right. My knee was slightly weaker in some situations, but not constantly. I thought it might be an injury, but maybe it wasn't as bad, and I was quite positive when I did the MRI."

He again waited and recovered, starting afresh. He returned in the summer of 2023, loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt, after nearly 500 days off following his third cruciate ligament tear. His value dropped from 25 million to just 2 million euros.

Last summer, LASK from Linz loaned Kalajdžić, and he played 23 matches, scoring six goals and providing seven assists, helping the team win the championship and the cup. This performance led to his selection for the World Cup team.

(Telegraf.rs)