Grimsbo replaces injured Grubisic at Györ

Back-to-back Women’s EHF Champions League winners Györi Audi ETO have found the replacement for their injured goalkeeper Jelena Grubisic.

30-year-old Norwegian international Kari Aalvik Grimsbo will join the Hungarian club from Danish league leaders Team Esbjerg with immediate effect.

Jelena Grubisic was signed earlier this season as a stand-in for pregnant Katrine Lunde, but Grubisic recently tore her anterior cruciate ligament and is out for the season.

In response, Györ have managed to buy Kari Aalvik Grimsbo out of her contract with Esbjerg and sign a two-and-a-half-year contract with her.

“Györ have a goalkeeper injured and need one now and in the future. That is a huge opportunity for me and when such a chance arises, it is hard to say no,” Kari Aalvik Grimsbo told her club’s official website.

“It is a dream come true for me, but it is going to be hard to say goodbye to the club and the people in Team Esbjerg, where my family and I have been extremely happy to be,” added Grimsbo who has been with the Danish club since 2010.

"An offer we could not refuse"

“We are a top club in what we in Denmark call the strongest league in the world and quite naturally there will be extra focus on our players. Team Esbjerg are in the favourable position in the Danish league, and therefore it has been a tough decision to let Kari go at the middle of the season.

“On the other hand, we have not wanted to keep her from taking another step in her career, and we got an attractive offer, we could not refuse,” Team Esbjerg’s chairman Bjarne Pedersen explained.

Kari Aalvik Grimsbo, who has played 114 internationals for Norway, recently returned to active duty after sustaining an injury in Norway’s first match at the EHF EURO 2014.

She will join her new teammates in Györ on Wednesday and could be set to face a number of national teammates when Larvik arrive for the opening main round match on Sunday 1 February.