CROATIAN midfielder Nikola Pokrivac has been killed in a car accident aged just 39.
The ex-Monaco and RB Salzburg star won 15 international caps from 2008 to 2010.
Pokrivac returned to football in 2021 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma a decade ago.
He played for lower league side NK Vojnic after joining the club last summer.
Pokrivac was killed following a four-vehicle collision in Karlovac in central Croatia on Friday evening.
Local media claim he was joined in the vehicle by three Vojnic teammates.
Croatian Football Federation president Marijan Kustics said: “Nikola was a great football player, who lived football until his last moment in this world, and who showed great courage in life by overcoming a terrible disease.
“This is a great loss for our football community, and especially painful for the family.
“It is impossible to find words of comfort in such a shocking and unimaginably sad moment when we have lost a young life.
“I can only express my deepest condolences to Nikola's family and loved ones for this irreparable loss.
“The HNS [the national football association] and the Croatian football family will be with them in these most difficult moments.”
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
