'He is depressed and scared' - Jovic's father defends Real Madrid striker after he returned to training injured

Luka Jovic "is depressed and a little scared" after returning to Real Madrid injured, according to his father, who says the striker was ready to "go out and be the best" before suffering a fitness setback.

Jovic has failed to live up to expectations at Santiago Bernabeu since completing a €60 million (£52m/$65m) move to the Spanish capital from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer.

The 22-year-old has only managed to score two goals in 24 outings across all competitions, and has yet to earn a regular spot in Zinedine Zidane's starting XI.

Reports indicating the Blancos could decide to cut their losses on the Serbia international when the transfer market reopens have already begun to surface, with his conduct while in quarantine also called into question.

Madrid's players were instructed to self-isolate following the postponement of the 2019-20 campaign in March, but Jovic was spotted outside of his home shortly after the new lockdown measures were put into place.

He was dealt another blow on Friday as the club announced that he reported to training with a fractured foot, which looks set to keep him sidelined for at least a few weeks.

His father, Milan Jovic, has now come out to explain how the injury came about, insisting his son was the victim of back luck while attempting to get himself into the best shape possible ahead of the proposed resumption of the season in June.

"He is depressed and a little scared," Jovic sr told Serbian publication Kurir. "He was preparing at home in Belgrade according to the training program he received from the club and during an exercise, he felt great pain.

"Who could know what was so serious? He was preparing to be like never before, go out and be the best - and this is happening now.”

He added on how long the Madrid forward is likely to be out of action for: "You need to do more detailed exams to know how much time you have to be on leave."

La Liga clubs were cleared to return to individual training sessions last week, with the remaining fixtures of the season set to go ahead behind closed doors next month.