Newcastle United defender Amar Dedić has been ruled out of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s upcoming international fixtures after suffering a recurrence of his hamstring injury.
Bosnia and Herzegovina head coach Sergej Barbarez confirmed the news on Monday, revealing that Dedić will miss all four of the nation’s upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures as he continues his recovery.
The 23-year-old had initially been included in Barbarez’s squad but will now remain in Newcastle to recover from the injury. According to the Bosnia boss, Dedić aggravated the problem during Newcastle’s recent defeat away to Leeds United, with the latest assessment indicating that the hamstring issue is more serious than initially thought.
Barbarez explained that Dedić is expected to be unavailable for around three to four weeks, meaning the defender will miss a significant portion of the upcoming international period.
The setback comes after Dedić had made an encouraging start to life on Tyneside following his summer move from Benfica. The Bosnia international quickly established himself as Matthias Jaissle’s first-choice right-back, starting Newcastle’s opening four Premier League matches of the campaign and providing one assist during that run.
Dedić subsequently missed Newcastle’s meeting with Hull City, with Jaissle confirming before the game that the defender was unavailable because of injury. His absence has provided an opportunity for Tino Livramento to feature at right-back while Dedić works his way back towards full fitness.
The timing of the injury will be frustrating for both Dedić and Newcastle, particularly with the defender having established himself as an important component of Jaissle’s new-look side.
For Bosnia and Herzegovina, his absence represents another selection problem for Barbarez as the national team prepares for a demanding run of fixtures.
The Dragons are scheduled to travel to Warsaw to face Poland on September 25 before travelling to Bucharest to take on Romania three days later. Bosnia will then return home to face Sweden on October 2 before completing the four-match sequence against Poland in Zenica on October 5.
Barbarez has therefore been forced to make changes to his squad, with additional players receiving opportunities as Bosnia deals with its injury problems.
The Bosnia boss confirmed that Dedić will not be available for any of the four fixtures, with the defender now set to concentrate on his rehabilitation at club level.
From Newcastle’s perspective, the international break could provide Dedić with valuable time to recover without the pressure of having to play competitive fixtures. The club will hope that the additional rest allows the hamstring problem to settle and that he can return to training safely once the international period concludes.
However, the recurrence means Newcastle will need to manage Dedić carefully. With the defender having already missed the Hull match, the priority will be ensuring that he makes a complete recovery rather than rushing him back and risking another setback.
Dedić’s absence also highlights the importance of Newcastle’s depth at right-back. Livramento provides an established alternative, while the club has other options capable of covering the position if required.
For now, though, the focus will be on Dedić’s recovery.
Having started the season as one of Jaissle’s regular starters, the Newcastle defender will spend the international break away from Bosnia’s squad and working towards his return to competitive action.
With Barbarez confirming that Dedić is expected to be sidelined for approximately three to four weeks, Newcastle will now have to wait patiently for one of their summer recruits to return to full fitness.
