Ivan Ilic was forced off with a knee injury during England’s clash with Serbia at Wembley, with ITV deciding not to show a replay of the incident due to its severity
Aaron Morris Senior Sports Reporter and Neil Docking
20:57, 13 Nov 2025
Ivan Ilic was forced off the pitch of Wembley in the first-half of England vs Serbia(Image: PA)
Ivan Ilic was assisted off the hallowed turf of Wembley on Thursday evening, after seemingly suffering a serious knee injury during England’s clash with Serbia.
The midfielder lost the ball on the edge of his area with 36 minutes played and the Three Lions leading 1-0 thanks to Bukayo Saka’s goal just before the half hour mark, as Marcus Rashford picked it up and fired a shot goalward.
It appeared as though during the incident, Ilic got his studs caught on the turf of the pitch and jarred his knee, dropping to the floor immediately in discomfort.
Rashford then rushed over to Ilic, before turning to the dugouts and waving on physios with urgency. Due to the nature of the injury, ITV decided not to show a replay of the incident.
Lead commentator, Sam Matterface, said: “We’ve had a look back and didn’t think it was the right thing to do to replay that incident. It’s quite a bad injury.”
ITV commentator Sam Matterface said the decision had been taken not to show the incident again(Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
The 24-year-old, who plays for Torino at club level, was then assisted off the pitch by members of the Serbian medical team, shortly before he was replaced by Aleksandar Stankovic.
England had earlier had an injury scare of their own, when Saka was seen limping after scoring in the 28th minute, and signalling to the England bench for what appeared to be a change of some sort.
However, those fears were allayed when during the break in play because of Ilic’s injury the Arsenal talisman changed his boots, suggesting that had been the source of his discomfort and not anything more serious.
Bukayo Saka was quick to signal after scoring his goal(Image: Getty Images)
England headed into their match against Serbia with very little pressure on their shoulders, despite it being a World Cup qualifier.
Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions secured their ticket to next summer’s tournament in North America in October thanks to a 5-0 thrashing of Latvia at Riga’s Daugava Stadium in October.
