Emil Madsen forced off with Injury in friendly match

On Thursday evening, THW Kiel had set their sights on a strong start to their pre-season preparations in a test match against Slovan Ljubljana from Slovenia. 

The match ended in a narrow 33-32 victory, but the result was quickly overshadowed by the mishap that struck Emil Madsen in the final phase.

The Danish right back had just scored his fifth goal to give Kiel a 28-26 lead when he shortly afterwards left the court with obvious pain in his right leg.

Kiel’s medical staff reacted quickly and led him straight to the changing room. 

Already early on Friday morning an MRI scan was performed at UKH Graz, where it became clear that Madsen has sustained an injury to both the ligaments and joint capsule at the head of the fibula. 

Scan reveals the extent of the injury

According to hbold.dk, the scan showed that Madsen’s injury requires at least 14 days away from handball, provided the healing process is optimal. 

It is still uncertain, however, how quickly he can actually return, and THW Kiel must now do without one of their most important players in a critical phase of the build-up.

Team doctor Dr Philip Lübke publicly thanked the medical team in Graz for the swift help, and THW Kiel head coach Filip Jicha underlined the significance of Madsen’s absence: 

– Emil is indispensable. His injury has overshadowed everything today.

The injury adds yet another name to Kiel’s growing absentee list, which already includes Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, Hendrik Pekeler and Eric Johansson. 

This means that four key players now risk missing large parts of the pre-season phase, when the team’s form curve has to be established.

Lukas Jørgensen also affected 

Emil Madsen is not the only Danish national team player who has to watch from the sidelines during the pre-season phase. 

Last week the line player Lukas Jørgensen was injured in a test match for SG Flensburg-Handewitt. 

After a counter-attack midway through the first half, he felt pain in his leg and was immediately taken off.

A subsequent scan revealed that he has sustained an injury to his thigh, and the message from the club is that he is out for an indefinite period. 

Jørgensen had otherwise hoped to return to training within a few weeks, but will now probably have to prepare for a longer lay-off.

Thus two Danish key figures will miss valuable training in the run-up to the Bundesliga’s start later this month, if they even manage to be ready in time.