Karabatic is back

It was the VELUX EHF Men’s Champions League match in Veszprem on 9 October 2010 that hit Montpellier HB really hard: top star Nikola Karabatic (torn quadriceps in his left thigh), Vid Kavticnik and Luka Karabatic were severely injured. As Luka Karabatic could return to the team very quickly, Vid Kavticnik is still out, like David Juricek.

But last Sunday MAHB Coach Patrice Canayer came to the arena with a smile on his face – knowing that his key player Nikola Karabatic would be back soon.

And Montpellier needed Karabatic in the second leg of the French league cup semi-final. Dunkerque had won the first match 29:26. But on home soil Karabatic led his team to a close 31:26 victory, which meant the qualification for the final – despite the fact that he was sent off with a red card after his third two minutes suspension after 48 minutes.

The return of Karabatic one week before the CL match in Kolding was not the only good news for Canayer: also Michael Guigou, Samuel Honrubia and Aymen Hammed returned and played for the first time after injuries.

All those players will be fit for the French Champion’s Group Phase game in Kolding. After two defeats, against Hamburg and in Veszprem, Canayer hopes for a better future to climb in the ranking of Group B.

The VELUX EHF Men's Champions League top game of Group B, KIF Kolding (DEN) vs. Montpellier Agglomeration HB (FRA) on Saturday 20 November 2010 at 16:15 hrs (local time), will be broadcast live on our free-of-charge web stream on ehfTV.com.