09.10.2007, 01:21
Kiel haunted by injuries

THW might apply for the "most unlucky" title. The team lost their fifth player in the season; Swedish Kim Andersson injured against Hammarby.

Kiel haunted by injuries

In the CL finals of last season, last seasons finals one my have translated THW "They Have (the) Will“.

The club was hit very hard by a series of injuries right in the deciding phase of the season. Players such as Szilágyi, Ahlm and Lövgren had to miss the finals due to physical problems. Nevertheless, Kiel won all three titles – and hoped that this bad series would come to an end. Now that the new season has just started, there are even more injured players than before.

First, the German world champion, Christian Zeitz, had to be operated with his hips and after some complications he will miss another five weeks. Then came the knee injury of a new player, Daniel Wessig. The Czech Filip Jicha, another newly signed, was injured very badly in the derby in Flensburg. He will miss nearly five months after a cartilage operation. Last season’s top scorer, Nikola Karabatic, will be out for some six weeks after an incident in Montpellier. He suffered a shoulder ligament injury.

The last bad news came on Sunday: in the Hamarby game the Swedish international, Kim Andersson, suffered a torn ligament in the ankle that will mean a pause for a minimum of two months.

THW will have to play the forthcoming important matches with their last reserves. “I hope Kim will not have to be operated, because then it will take a few months to recover,” said THW coach, Noka Serdarusic just after the victory against Hammarby.

The Kiel back court has lots of problems. They just signed Ales Pajovic from Ciudad Real until December to substitute Karabatic and Jicha on the left side, but he is only allowed to play in domestic games, not in the Champions League.

“We have three playmakers and all have to play on different positions now. You cannot prepare for this, so we have to think about what we are doing now,” said Serdarusic.

The coach was also asked if Kiel would sign a new player again to fill the gap. Serdarusic kept his humour and said: “Staffan Olsson, the coach of Hammarby, doesn’t have time to help us on Thursday in Constanta, unfortunately.”

In the next Champions League-matches THW will have only two players on the bench and only one lefthander on court.

“It’s incredible,” says pivot Markus Ahlm. “We try to survive every match and in every match the list of injured players gets longer and longer. It will become very hard in the next weeks without our key players.”

Manager Uwe Schwenker is also looking ahead with sorrows: “I hope that in November the situation will be a little bit better. At first we have to play the Champions Trophy in Celje and we have to see which players will still be able to play.”

There is someone who hopes that he will come back in November. Nikola Karabatic has to rest his shoulder for the next two weeks. He talks about the incident in Montpellier: “Fouls are normal in handball, because it’s a contact sport. But this was so unnecessarily,I could have been hurt even more and I would miss the next months or a year.”

As the THW doctors say, Karabatic will be able to play within four weeks again. “I cannot start rehabilitation yet as my shoulder has to rest completely for two weeks. I hope that I will be able to move it after this,” Karabatic told Eurohandball.com.

The Frenchman was surprised by the debut of his substitute, Ales Pajovic. Kiel won against Gummersbach in the Kölnarena last week:

“I watched the match on TV with Filip Jicha. It’s terrible just to watch and not to play, but fortunately we won this very important match. Now we still have all our chances in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League. Easier matches will come for Kiel now.”

However, Karabatic did not calculate with the injury of Andersson. Without these two brilliant backcourt players, it will be hard for Kiel even at the easier matches.

TEXT: Björn Pazen