Stefan Bajcetic misses out on Spain Olympic squad for Liverpool boost

Liverpool have been dealt a shot in the arm after Stefan Bajcetic was left out of Spain’s Olympic squad for the upcoming tournament.

Having missed most of the last 15 months through injury, Bajcetic, who managed just three appearances for the Reds last season, could be on the plane to Paris following his rehabilitation at the end of last term.

After making his Spain U21 debut in September 2023, Bajcetic was also expected to join last summer’s trip to the European U21 Championships in Romania and Georgia, until an untimely injury cut his season short. Despite this, he did not make Santi Denia’s 22-man squad for pre-Olympic training, with Denia confessing that it was: “The most difficult squad I’ve ever had to make”.

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The Spanish squad will gather at the Ciudad del Futbol on July 1 to get started before heading to Bordeaux for a friendly against the USA Olympic team on July 18. The team will then line up for a showdown with Uzbekistan to open the Olympic group stage on July 24, followed by matches against the Dominican Republic and Egypt.

For Liverpool, Bajcetic’s omission comes as a relief, especially given his recent injury struggles, as participation in the Olympics (scheduled for July 25-August 9) would have interfered heavily with pre-season preparations.

The Spaniard will now be able to work under new head coach Arne Slot as he aims to make up for lost time at Liverpool. Although Bajcetic has not been selected for the Spain squad, it is still uncertain whether Egypt and Japan will call up Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo respectively as outclassed players.

Egypt have already expressed their desire to include the Liverpool striker in their squad, while Endo has admitted his aspiration to represent his nation in Paris. The deadline for teams to submit their final 22-man squads for the Olympics is July 3.