Amanda Rantanen of the Finnish women’s national football team has not been able to run since May. He will return to the playing fields in half a year at the earliest.
Finnish women’s national football team Amanda Rantase has behind him heavy months. He has been able to wear football boots for the last time in May.
The previous game minutes have also been recorded at the beginning of May in the shirt of the club team Linköping.
– I had had pain in both legs for some time. After the last game, the pain was so bad that I couldn’t sleep at night. I got the feeling that I have to get my legs photographed, this is in no way normal anymore. There they noticed that I have a stress fracture in both of my lower legs, Rantanen told Urheilu by phone.
In the case of the right leg, the fracture was significantly worse than the left leg.
– There we discussed whether to operate immediately, or wait over the summer to see how the leg begins to heal. We ended up waiting.
In mid-August, new pictures were taken of Rantase. It turned out that the situation has not improved much.
– We finally came to the conclusion that the only option is surgery, so that the leg will heal 100%. Exactly three weeks ago I had surgery and now it is slowly starting to look like the direction is up.
Even in January, Rantanen was full of enthusiasm. She had just moved to her new hometown after signing a contract with Linköping, one of the best women’s football clubs in the country.
The head coach With Andree Jeglertz had his own plans for the Finn. The bronze team of the previous season was preparing to win medals and fight in the Champions League qualifiers. On the field, the team was led by the player chosen as the best player of the series in the previous season Olga Ahtinen.
Since then, Jeglertz has moved to become the head coach of the Danish women’s national team, and Ahtinen to the ranks of Tottenham in the English Super League.
– Andree has been a really important coach for me. Of course it was sad to hear that he was leaving and I was sad that I got to spend so little time with him and was injured more time than I could play. But at the same time, I’m really proud of him. It’s wonderful that he got such an opportunity, Rantanen begins.
– And the same with Olga: She is a super good player and a great person. It would have been wonderful to play next to Olga. But at the same time, I’m so proud and happy for him that he got such an opportunity and that he’s still playing super well there.
Towards brighter times
Rantanen describes the last few months as heavy.
– You have to go through a lot of things alone. Every day it feels like somehow you’re missing out on football when you’re not part of training together and preparing for games. It’s pretty brutal. Especially when you live alone abroad, and you don’t have family and closest friends nearby, says Rantanen.
– I’ve only had to wait to see if it will get better on its own or if I’ll have to have surgery. And if I have to have surgery, what does that mean. I have known this to be one of the hardest injuries to heal from and it has been difficult to deal with. But it’s also educational and I’ve been really proud of myself, how I’ve been able to handle difficult emotions.
In addition to family and friends, Rantanen’s teammates have helped in his recovery. Now the eye is on the future.
– In such an injury, it is difficult to estimate the recovery time, but the starting point is that half a year after the surgery, you would be able to play properly. It was immediately said that it could take longer.
On Friday, Rantanen will travel back to Sweden. On Saturday, Linköping plays in the Damallsvenskan’s top fight as a guest of Hammarby.
– I’m really excited to be able to go back. It’s wonderful to see the team and support them. The feelings are really expectant and good. It seems that the worst is behind us.
Goalkeepers: Tinja-Riikka Korpela (AS Roma), Anna Tamminen (Hammarby), Milla-Maj Majasaari (Uppsala).
Defenders: Natalia Kuikka (Portland Thorns), Joanna Tynnilä (Brann), Eva Nyström (Hammarby), Elli Pikkujämsä (Racing Louisville), Emma Koivisto (Liverpool), Tiia Peltonen (Fortuna Hjörring), Anni Hartikainen (KuPS).
Midfielders and forwards: Nora Heroum (Sampdoria), Emma Peuhkurinen (Örebro), Katariina Kosola (Häcken), Eveliina Summanen (Tottenham), Oona Siren (KuPS), Olga Ahtinen (Tottenham), Ria Öling (Rosengård), Emmi Alanen (Kristianstad) ), Sanni Franssi (Real Sociedad), Linda Sällström Vittsjö, Jutta Rantala Leicester, Heidi Kollanen Örebro, Oona Sevenius Como.
The Finnish women’s national football team Helmarit will face Croatia in the League of Nations on Friday, October 27 at 18:45 in Helsinki and on Tuesday, October 31 in Sibenik. follows the games on its channels and on its website, the live broadcast on TV2 and Areena starts on October 27. at 6:15 p.m.