If you're wondering why Croatia's Josko Gvardiol was wearing a face mask in his 2022 World Cup debut on Wednesday, it is quite a gory story.
The 20-year-old defender who plays for RB Leipzig was involved in an on field collision with a teammate on Nov. 10 during the club's victory over Freiburg, resulting in a facial injury.
After getting scans done at the hospital, Gvardiol found out that he had suffered a broken nose two weeks before the World Cup and would have to wear a face mask as protection.
The injury has also caused his eye to be swollen.
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Croatia went on to finish in a scoreless draw with Morocco in a Group F showdown and is set to face Canada on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 11 a.m.
Action can be watched on FoxSports.com in English and on Peacock in Spanish.
