He has a lot to think about and worry about during the slightly more than 24 hours between Friday's big loss to Germany (83–105) and Saturday's "must-win match" against Great Britain.
Pelle Larsson and Simon Birgander fell ill before the Germany match and are continued question marks.
We need to have a broad match plan prepared for different scenarios – can one play, can both play, can neither play? We need to set a time when we know if they will be included or not, says Mikko Riipinen.
Worried that more will get sick?
I am absolutely worried about it. Lasse Johansson (the sports manager) is also ill and not here today. At the same time, it is beyond my control, but when I wake up tomorrow, I need to have a fairly clear picture of who can participate, says the national team captain.
The fire alarm went off
Both Sweden and Germany were woken up during the night to Friday when the fire alarm went off at the European Championship teams' hotel in Tammerfors.
Right after the fire alarm went off tonight, I got the information that Pelle was not feeling well. Of course, we would see in the morning if it had gotten better or worse, but the fire alarm did not directly help his sleep. It probably affected it a bit, says Mikko Riipinen.
Even closer to the start of the match against Germany came the news that Birgander was not in playable condition.
It's clear that it affects a lot. They are not just starting players, they have big roles and we have designed the game so that they will be their best selves, says Riipinen.
The players in the European Championship squad live in single rooms and no extra measures to isolate the sick players needed to be taken.
"Extremely important match"
Pelle Larsson has not had any fever, says the national team captain, who, however, could not give clear answers about Birgander's status.
Team captain Ludvig Håkanson hopes and believes that the star duo is back against Great Britain.
It would have meant a lot and I think it will take a lot for them not to play tomorrow, he says and continues:
We may not have wanted to mention before the European Championship which teams we should win against – but Great Britain is one of them. An extremely important match.
Sweden, which stands at two losses after the meetings with Finland and Germany, also has Montenegro (Monday) and Lithuania (Wednesday) to meet. Four teams will advance from the group.
