London, Sep. 1 : Croatia have accused England of a conspiracy to deliberately nobble their star players.

According to The Sun, Croat FA president Vlatko Markovic set the tone by claiming his Premier League-based players have been targeted.

Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric is out for six weeks after fracturing his right leg on Saturday, while Arsenal striker Eduardo suffered an horrific broken leg 18 months ago.

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

Modric refuses to blame Birmingham midfielder Lee Bowyer for the tackle which has left him facing almost two months wearing an Aircast boot on his right leg.

Group Six leaders England will qualify for next summer''s World Cup finals if they win at Wembley next week.

Ironically, it was Croatia who stopped Steve McClaren''s England qualifying for the 2008 European Championships. (ANI)