Newcastle’s Dedić Injury Sparks Fury in Bosnia

Amar Dedić arrived at St James’ Park looking like a shrewd piece of business. Energetic, sharp, immediately at home in the Premier League. Now he’s at the centre of a storm, his momentum wrecked by a hamstring that simply wouldn’t let go – and a club decision that Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Sergej Barbarez clearly believes was avoidable.

The right-back first felt the problem in a Carabao Cup tie against Millwall earlier this month. Newcastle’s medical team initially sounded upbeat. A strain, not a tear. Manageable. The kind of knock a modern defender plays through every season.

Then came Leeds United.

Newcastle started him again in the Premier League, and the gamble blew up. Dedić lasted just 58 minutes of the defeat before signalling he could not continue. For Newcastle, it was another injury disruption in a difficult campaign. For Bosnia, it was the moment a key piece of their Nations League plan disappeared.

From Sarajevo, Barbarez did not bother to hide his irritation.

At his press conference, the national team boss broke the situation down in cold, technical terms and laid the blame squarely at club level. He argued that the second setback against Leeds had turned a manageable strain from Millwall into something far more serious.

“He renewed his injury against Leeds, the extent of the injury is greater than before. If he had rested that game, he would certainly be with us now, but such things happen. He will be absent for three or four weeks. He will not be ready for these four games,” Barbarez said.

For Bosnia, that absence stretches across a demanding international window. Poland, Romania, Sweden – three fixtures where Dedić’s energy down the flank and his growing maturity would have been central to the game plan. Instead, Barbarez must watch a defender in form sit out the entire block of matches.

And Dedić is not the only blow.

If the right-back’s situation has sparked anger, the news on Kenan Busuladzić cuts even deeper. The young midfielder, viewed as one of the squad’s longer-term pillars, has suffered a serious knee injury and faces a brutal recovery timeline.

“We also miss Kenan Busuladzic. He will not be in the game for nine months because he tore his cruciate ligaments,” Barbarez confirmed, delivering the kind of update every manager dreads.

Nine months. An entire season reshaped, maybe more. For a developing player, it is a chasm.

Faced with that kind of attrition, Barbarez has chosen not to dwell. He has moved quickly, reshaping his group and dragging new faces into the spotlight.

• Benjamin Tahirović
• Ajdin Hasić
• Arjan Malić
• Luka Durić

have all been called into the senior squad, a clear signal that the Nations League will double as an audition for Bosnia’s next wave. The selection of Durić stands out in particular. The Paderborn player has been climbing steadily in Germany’s second tier, adapting to the demands of a higher level and pushing his way onto the radar.

“We handed out several invitations, we invited Benjamin Tahirovic, Ajdin Hasic, Arjan Malic and LukaDuric from Paderborn. He made a step forward in his career, he plays in the Bundesliga. Although the start of the season was not the most important thing, we want to see him in action so that he can be part of our team,” Barbarez explained.

The message is clear: injuries might have ripped out some of Bosnia’s core, but this window will not be written off. It will be used.

Amid the bad news, one situation at least eased the tension. When Juventus youngster Kerim Alajbegović came off at half-time in a clash with Atalanta, alarm bells rang in Sarajevo. Another midfielder? Another long lay-off?

Not this time.

Barbarez picked up the phone, spoke to the player and to Juventus’ medical staff, and the diagnosis brought a rare sliver of relief in a bleak week.

“We spoke with Alajbegovic last night. He is slightly injured, he felt pain in his hip. Juventus doctors examined him last night and he is on his way to Sarajevo. He may take a break for a day or two, but it shouldn’t be anything special,” the coach said.

So Bosnia head into a condensed Nations League schedule with a patched-up squad, a simmering dispute over Newcastle’s use of Dedić, and a group of new faces suddenly thrust into the frame.

The questions now move from the treatment room to the pitch: can Barbarez turn frustration and loss into a new core for Bosnia’s future, or will this international window be remembered only for the players who never made it onto the grass?