Two major EHF Champions League injury blows: Odriozola and Gunnarsson sidelined for months
HBC Nantes and FC Porto have both suffered significant injury setbacks at the start of the new EHF Champions League season, with Kauldi Odriozola and Thorsteinn Leo Gunnarsson set to spend months on the sidelines.
Nantes will be without Odriozola after the Spanish right wing suffered a serious knee injury during the 33:32 Champions League victory over Vardar in Skopje.
Medical examinations following the team’s return to France confirmed an anterior cruciate ligament tear. The 29-year-old was forced off in the 17th minute and now faces a lengthy rehabilitation period.
His absence leaves Grégory Cojean’s team with Luka Peric and other internal options on the right wing.
FC Porto have also lost one of their important players, with Icelandic international Thorsteinn Leo Gunnarsson expected to miss between two and three months.
The 23-year-old backcourt player injured his right ankle in Porto’s Champions League opener against Veszprém after teammate Guilherme Borges fell on him during a defensive action.
Gunnarsson required surgery, with Porto confirming that the procedure was completed without complications. The Icelandic international previously revealed that he had suffered ligament damage to the ankle as well as an injury to the syndesmosis.
With an expected recovery period of two to three months, Gunnarsson is effectively ruled out for the remainder of the Champions League group stage.
However, his chances of recovering in time to represent Iceland at the World Championship remain intact.
Two Champions League clubs have therefore suffered major early-season setbacks, losing important rotation players for a substantial part of the European campaign.
