The rupture of the Achilles tendon taught Mia Vallenius to appreciate every moment she could be on the field. The 24-year-old Finn wants to continue playing in the Swedish Super League and win the world championship in the Finnish shirt.
Floorball player Mia Vallenius is happy now.
The defender returned to the floorball courts in the Swedish Super League last Friday. Vallenius wore his team’s upscale IK Sirius jersey after a 15-month break.
– It felt really great to start playing in the home hall again. The game was still wondering and fetching, but the feeling was there, Vallenius says.
After his injury in the second match, Vallenius no longer wondered. The defender excelled in scoring last Sunday when IK Sirius bowed to IBK Nacka 5-6.
The joy of the paint felt distant in December 2020. At that time, the Achilles tendon of Vallenius was broken in practice.
– We jumped real at the end of the training. When I got down, I had a bang on my left leg and I immediately realized what it was all about. After a few seconds, I started to think I couldn’t – the World Cup is a year away, Vallenius says.
The Finnish Achilles tendon was quickly cut after an injury in Stockholm. The doctors predicted the player would have time to return to the trough before next fall. The World Cup to be played in his current hometown of Uppsala was supposed to be realism for Vallenius.
– Last August I got to the point where I had already returned to the field. A couple of weeks after the team training, I went for magnetic shots. They said a rupture was found in the Achilles tendon. It was the biggest place of this injury at the time, Vallenius says.
– At that moment, I realized that now the World Cup will be missed and at the same time a big part of the matches of the coming season. That information felt worse than the actual injury.
Vallenius’ games in Sweden had started well. The defender had shown that he was one of the best players in the series. Vallenius had time to play ten games in the fall of 2020, scoring four goals and nine assists.
Contradictory moods in the auditorium of the World Cup
Last December, the Women’s Floorball World Championships were played in Uppsala. Vallenius sat in the auditorium with his friends. He encouraged his national teammates, even though the feeling was contradictory.
– It was quite awful and painful to watch the matches from the side. However, for me, these were quoted home races in the backyard. This was especially the case in the dental cavity because rehabilitation got caught up in the little one, Vallenius says.
Finland won silver in the Uppsala World Cup. Sweden won the championship after an overtime settlement.
Vallenius has already turned his goals to the 2023 World Championships in Singapore.
– There the final result is different.
Healing a severe Achilles tendon injury has taught Mia Vallenius to appreciate playing and practicing.
– It is said that after the injury comes back at least stronger in mind. It’s a cliché, but surprisingly many clichés hold true, Vallenius laughs.
– One peri-Finnish saying is that hard work is rewarded. Here, for me, it did not materialize and the goal was not achieved, although it did not stick to work. Maybe I understand now that not everything is black and white, Vallenius ponders.
Vallenius has no contract yet for next season. The tough level of the Super League attracts a 24-year-old to continue playing on Swedish courts.
– I’d like to play in Sweden again. Here the level is tougher than in the home league.
Vallenius’ team IK Sirius has three more games left in the regular season, after which the playoffs will start.