Sweden meets Norway on Wednesday evening in front of more than 10,000 spectators in the Avicii arena in Stockholm, and then awaits the return match in Trondheim on Saturday. The rivalry matches, which are part of the EHF European Championship, are Sweden's first national team matches since the record-poor World Championship in Oslo in January.
Blue-yellow finished in 14th place – and Felix Claar followed the misery from the TV sofa.
It was all too much up and down in the performances. And when it was down, it felt like the periods were too long. Then it could become 5–0 or 5–1 to the opponents, and you can't really afford that, says the 28-year-old star.
Problems during the Olympic Games
It was during the Olympic Games at the end of the summer that Claar's heel problems finally became unmanageable. He had also had pain during the spring in Magdeburg, but the dense match schedule during the Olympic Games worsened the pain.
He broke off a group stage match in Slovenia and then sat out a match to come back just in time for the quarterfinal loss to Denmark.
It is also Felix Claar's latest national team match.
We wanted to test a few other methods to get it to work, but it didn't, and then it was finally decided that it would have to be an operation. I have removed a bursa and a bone chip in the heel, cleaned up a bit. From the operation to when I could play again, it took exactly three months, he says.
"Has gone well"
Claar was back in play in the Bundesliga at the beginning of February.
The first match against Kiel was a bit nervous and it wasn't a good comeback. But after that, it has gone well. I felt that the timing and the feints came back surprisingly quickly, but the handball lung is still a bit heavy.
National team coach Michael Apelgren, who took over after Glenn Solberg last autumn, is happy to finally have been able to select Felix Claar in a national team squad.
He is a world-leading player, so we hope it will make us stronger, says Apelgren.
In Sweden's squad, in addition to Claar, Max Darj, the midfielder who was forced to withdraw a late World Championship rejection due to injury, is also found. Michael Apelgren is also bringing forward two teenage national team debutants in left-back Felix Montebovi, HK Malmö, and left-winger Nikola Roganovic, Eskilstuna Guif.
Carl Göransson/TT
Facts: This season's tournament national team matches
TT
+ European Championship
France (away), loss 31–37.
Denmark (home), loss 29–33.
+ World Championship in Oslo
Japan, win 39–21.
Chile, win 42–30.
Spain, 29–29.
Portugal, 37–37.
Brazil, loss 24–27.
Norway, loss 24–29.
