Dusan Vlahovic, a Juventus striker, has disputed 'absurd' reports that he has been denied World Cup playing time owing to an ongoing romance with a teammate's wife.

Vlahovic has started both of Serbia's World Cup group games from the bench, and despite his recent strong run, he did not play in their recent 3-3 tie with Cameroon.

His absence from the starting lineup aroused eyebrows before rumors spread that he was having an affair with the wife of his Serbian teammate, goalie Predrag Rajkovic.

Serbian media stated that Vlahovic's lack of playing time was due to an affair with the wife of the national reserve goalie, but the attacker has denied such reports.

'I am sorry to have to start the press conference at the World Cup this way, but I have to speak about it since this is my name being thrown around,' Vlahovic said during their pre-match news conference.'

'What we all read and hear about, there's no need to comment on something so absurd. Evidently these people are bored and have nothing better to do because they are frustrated or angry, but working against the national interest of the team at the moment is obviously their main job right now.

'We are more united than ever and the atmosphere in the squad has never been better. These stories are ridiculous, I just want to protect my name and my integrity, so I will take legal action if necessary.

'It's not the first time this has happened, I would've hoped that people would support the team before such an important match, but instead, we are forced to talk about things that have nothing to do with it.

'These are people with empty CVs who achieved nothing, but they will certainly not get extra attention off my name. They have always been small people and prove it day by day.'