Eight months break for superstar?: Sagosen shock hits THW Kiel "brutally".

The Norwegian handball star Sander Sagosen is seriously injured in the Bundesliga home win of his THW Kiel over HSV Hamburg. The absence of the 26-year-old is particularly dramatic for the semi-finals in the Champions League the weekend after next.

The victory over HSV Hamburg in the sold-out arena? Doesn’t matter! Securing second place in the Handball Bundesliga? secondary! What touched and concerned the players of THW Kiel and the 10,285 fans was Sander Sagosen’s serious injury. A few hours after the 29:22 in the northern duel, the THW published the diagnosis: fracture in the left ankle and tear of the syndesmosis ligament. According to team doctor Frank Pries, the Norwegian will be out “between six and eight months”.

“It’s brutal that we lost two of our key players to injuries in such a short time,” said THW trainer Filip Jicha, also referring to Hendrik Pekeler, who recently tore his Achilles tendon. The 40-year-old Czech quickly turned his gaze to the future: “We feel for Peke and now Sander, but we also know that it has to work without them. We have to let this day sink in first.” But let’s move on.

In all likelihood, the “Zebras” will win the fight for second place and thus qualification for the Champions League even without Sagosen. In view of the good goal difference, two points from the last two games at Rhein-Neckar Löwen on Wednesday (7.05 p.m. / Sky) and against Frisch Auf Göppingen on next Sunday (3.30 p.m. / Sky) are enough to be ahead of Füchsen Berlin at the end of the season . The absence of the 26-year-old Sagosen weighs much more heavily for the Champions League semi-finals on June 18 against the defending champions FC Barcelona.

The team from Kiel followed up with the Norwegian record national player Bjarte Myrhol in the pivot position. In the game against Hamburg, 40-year-old Myrhol received a lot of playing time and scored two goals. For the four remaining games of the season – two each in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League – finding a contractless backcourt player who can help the team is likely to be a much more difficult task for THW Managing Director Viktor Szilagyi.

But Hamburg, who had already traveled to Kiel without five backcourt players anyway, had to cope with another setback. Dominik Axmann retired with an ankle injury. The exact diagnosis is still pending for the 22-year-old.