AC Milan and Croatia midfielder Modric breaks cheekbone and in race to be World Cup ready

MILAN (AP) — Luka Modric’s club season with AC Milan is almost definitely over after breaking his cheekbone but the Croatia captain is expected to be fit for the World Cup.

Modric was forced off late in Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Juventus after getting injured while challenging for a header in the air with opposing midfielder Manuel Locatelli.

Tests on Monday revealed a fracture to his left cheekbone and Modric underwent surgery hours later.

Milan said it was “a complex, multi-fragment fracture of the left zygomatic bone” but the operation “was completely successful.”

The club did not say how long Modric will be sidelined for. However, only four rounds remain in Serie A.

“The club wishes Luka a speedy recovery ahead of the FIFA World Cup!” Milan added.

Croatia kicks off its World Cup campaign against England in seven weeks on June 17. It also plays Panama and Ghana in Group L.

“I've been talking to Luka,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić said on X through the national federation, “and wished him a successful surgery and a quality and speedy recovery. I am convinced that he will do everything to be ready for the FIFA World Cup, and we'll provide full support. I am confident that the recovery will go according to plan and that Luka, as team captain, will lead us at another major competition this summer.”

Modric is in the final months of his contract with Milan, having signed a one-year deal last summer following 13 trophy-filled seasons at Real Madrid. He has an option to extend the contract for another year.

Modric grew up supporting AC Milan and has been a key player for the Rossoneri. The 40-year-old has started 32 of 34 league matches and been left on the bench only once.

He was named player of the match on Sunday.

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FILE - France's Kylian Mbappe, left, is challenged by Croatia's Luka Modric during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between France and Croatia, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - Croatia's Luka Modric scores his side's second goal from a penalty spot during a World Cup 2026 group L qualifying soccer match between Croatia and Czech Republic at the Opus Arena in Osijek, Croatia, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)

Juventus's Francisco Conceicao, left, fights for the ball with AC Milan's Luka Modric during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Juventus, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Alessio Morgese/LaPresse via AP)

AC Milan's Luka Modric, left, controls the ball from Juventus' Lloyd Kelly during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Juventus, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Alessio Morgese/LaPresse via AP)

AC Milan's Luka Modric is injured during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Juventus, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

TORONTO (AP) — Canada is developing a government-owned investment fund, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday.

Carney said that the fund would invest in major Canadian industrial projects, in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology. It will begin at 25 billion Canadian dollars ($18 billion).

The prime minister said that the federal government will provide funds alongside private investors. The money will help finance projects that Carney's government is focused on building, as Canada seeks to diversify away from the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty with tariffs, most offensively by claiming Canada could become the 51st U.S. state.

“Many of our former strengths built on our close ties to the United States have become our weaknesses,” Carney said. “The U.S. has changed. That’s their right and we are responding. That is our imperative.”

Carney is a former two-time central banker in England and Canada, as well as ex-chair of Bloomberg's board of directors.

“We take a lesson from other jurisdictions that had the foresight many decades ago to start sovereign wealth funds,” Carney said, “In some cases, they began with a domestic focus, then outgrew the scale of the domestic focus.”

Sovereign wealth funds invest in assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate. They are typically funded by a country’s budgetary surplus, which Canada currently doesn't have. The announcement came a day before Carney's government is due to announce its spring economic update.

There are more than 90 sovereign wealth funds around the world that manage more than $8 trillion in assets, according to The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, a London-based organization made up of roughly 50 of these entities.

Trump ordered the creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund last year. In the U.S., more than 20 sovereign wealth funds exist at the state level, according to an analysis by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based nonpartisan think tank.

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during an announcement on the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's first sovereign wealth fund, in Ottawa on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney makes an announcement on the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's first sovereign wealth fund, at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks from a lectern beside a Canadian National Railways locomotive at the Canada Science and Technology Museum, during an announcement on the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's first sovereign wealth fund in Ottawa on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during an announcement on the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's first sovereign wealth fund in Ottawa on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Prime Minister Mark Carney responds to a question during an event in Ottawa on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)