Djurgården and Sweden midfielder, Emilia Appelqvist has been dealt a sucker-punch after damaging her knee ligaments in the first DIF training session of the year.

A miss for any team

At 26, Appelqvist well experienced and versed with the pace of the Damallsvenskan and has made a strong case for herself to be included in any Swedish national team rosters, having racked up 18 senior caps under Pia Sundhage. Wearing the armband for Djurgården, Appelqvist played a key role for the Blue Stripes upon their return to the top flight and her absence will be well felt by the Stockholm team.

Already named in the Sweden squad to travel to La Manga to face Norway and England this month, Appelqvist was replaced by Petra Andersson earlier in the week before news of her injury was made public.

Sweden’s national team doctor, Houman Ebrahimi spoke about the extent of the injury, explaining that the midfielder has not just injured her anterior cruciate ligament but external ligaments as well. The doctor unable to work on reconstructing the damaged ACL until the outer ligaments have properly healed, but Ebrahimi remains confident that Appelqvist will be able to return to her top level after she’s fully recovered.

Grabus also sidelined

The injury occurred during her first training session with Djurgården on Tuesday, following the winter break. When speaking to DIF’s website Appelqvist said she knew “immediately” that she’d done “something serious” and when she received the bad news following an MRI she wasn’t surprised to learn of the extent of the damage.

Understandably upset, Appelqvist spoke of the news as weighing heavily but the defensive midfielder remains grateful of the friends and family around her with the “best possible team” to back her up.

Appelqvist is the second Swedish Damallsvenskan star forced to sit out part of the 2017 season as Örebro’s Adelisa Grabus also damaged her ACL in October and is already on the long road to recovery.

VAVEL wishes both players the best with their respective injuries.

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About the author
Sophie Lawson
Neutral football fan travelling around Europe, covering matches and bothering footballers for interviews