Croatia FA president Vlatko Markovic has accused England of trying to injure Croatian players in the Premier League.

Following the injury to Tottenham star Luka Modric on the weekend, Markovic believes there has been a recurring theme involving Croatian national team players playing in England.

With England hosting Croatia in a World Cup qualifier next week, the president has suggested that Modric's broken leg is more than just a coincidence.

"First Eduardo, now Luka Modric. This is horrible. I can only ask myself if it was really an accident," Markovic said.

"I'm close to thinking it was done to us deliberately before the England match. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what happened to Luka. He is irreplaceable."

Markovic added: "Modric is the most important player of our national team. With him, everything starts and ends.

"Luka is for us as important as Andres Iniesta for Barcelona or Michael Ballack used to be for Bayern Munich. Without him we will be much weaker.

"There's nothing else we can do but keep our heads up and go on."