Ebba Andersson and Calle Halfvarsson have tested positive for Covid-19.
But now national team doctor Rickard Noberius gives an unexpected and positive message.
– I think both have the opportunity to enter the tour, he says to SVT.
Calle Halfvarsson has shown good form in recent weeks and was just one second away from taking the first podium of the season in the last World Cup competition. Ebba Andersson is perhaps the best distance skier in the world right now, and was a super favorite to win the entire Tour de Ski, which begins the day before New Year’s Eve.
Doctor’s word
Therefore, the announcement on Tuesday came as a shock. Four Swedish skiers – including Ebba Andersson and Calle Halfvarsson – had fallen ill with mild symptoms when they got to altitude in Italy. They tested positive for Covid-19, and many immediately excluded their participation from the Tour de Ski.
But only hours later, national team doctor Rickard Noberius gave a reassuring, and potentially magical message. Both Andersson and Halfvarsson are on a “start-up” to get into shape, and the tour, as soon as possible.
– They have started to move a little and the start is a while after you have had an infection and it takes a number of days before you are fit for fight to be able to compete in such tough competitions so we have taken it day by day for to see how it develops, says Noberius to SVT.
Unexpected message
In the past year, several who tested positive for Covid-19 have needed a long time to fully recover. But his message about Ebba Andersson and Calle Halfvarsson in particular is all the more positive.
– I think that both have a good opportunity to enter the tour and be able to be there, then exactly what form they have is much more difficult to say, and maybe they need a couple of days into the tour before they get into phase. Then you can probably expect that it will be a little more varied form day by day from them. That there is a risk of that, in any case, he says.
The symptoms that the stars must have exhibited must be so mild that there is no risk of them both running properly.
– No, not considering that they are healthy now and that they have had such mild symptoms, I see no risk that they will participate, but you should be aware that the results can be something of a lottery, not as certain that they can produce the same results as before, says Noberius.
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