The national handball team's star Felix Claar will most likely miss the World Championship in January. His club Magdeburg writes on their website that the midfielder has been forced to undergo surgery on his Achilles tendon and if the rehabilitation goes as planned, the club expects Claar to return to play first after the World Championship break.
Claar injured his foot in the group stage match against Slovenia in the Olympic Games, but returned to play after missing two matches. In August, the Bundesliga club announced that the injury was worse than feared and that they expected several months of absence.
At that time, the hope was that an operation could be avoided, but on Wednesday, the 27-year-old was forced to undergo surgery.
The World Championship will take place from January 14 to February 2 in Denmark, Croatia, and Norway. Sweden will play their initial group stage matches against Spain, Japan, and Chile, as well as a possible intermediate round in Norwegian Bærum.