Džeko said that the injury in the victory in Italy was like fate.

The match in Zenica ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time, with Bosnia overtaking the Italian team, who were down to 10 men, in a dramatic and unexpected turn of events. Džeko fell to the ground in the dying seconds after being fouled by Davide Frattesi.

The home fans must have feared the worst when Bosnia's all-time top scorer stepped out onto the pitch to toss the coin with a bag of ice on his shoulder, and ultimately, the striker left the pre-penalty shootout procedures to a teammate.

"I kept saying that it was definitely fate, that it happened in the last seconds of the match, and then I couldn't take the penalty," Džeko said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"Someone else stepped up, scored, and ultimately, we won."

“Who knows, maybe if I had taken that ball, I wouldn't have scored, so everything seems to have come from above.”

Bosnia's goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj didn't need to make a single save in the penalty shootout. Pio Esposito

's penalty for Italy flew over the crossbar, while Bryan Cristante's hit the crossbar. Meanwhile, the home team successfully scored all four penalties.

The two final Bosnia penalty takers, 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic and 21-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic, had a younger combined age than Dzeko, but both displayed remarkable composure in scoring.

Džeko, who played and scored in Bosnia's only World Cup appearance in 2014, took part in the jubilant celebrations with a bandage on his arm — which he was still wearing at the press conference — but remained optimistic about his chances of recovering in time for the finals.

"We're all breathing a sigh of relief about the arm; it's not the worst case scenario," Džeko said.

"It's very likely that I won't need surgery. So, I hope that in about a month or so, I will be back."