Palander to miss rest of season with leg fracture

By Published On: February 4th, 2008Comments Off on Palander to miss rest of season with leg fracture

Finland’s Kalle Palander will undergo surgery Monday in Helsinki, Finland, and will be out of contention for the coming two months, said Kalle Soederholm, one of his managers.
FINLAND'S  Kalle Palander will undergo surgery Monday in Helsinki, Finland, and will miss the rest of this season, said Kalle Soederholm, one of his managers.
     “Following a series of controls and X-rays done in recent weeks, it appeared that Kalle suffers a stress fracture at his right tibia,” Soederholm said. “We start to get worried about it last month after he crashed during a FIS race at Westendorf, because he felt much pain at that leg afterwards,” he added. “The first examination showed the problem but then it seemed possible for him to wait the end of the season to be operated. Kalle still had a chance to clinch the giant slalom World Cup title and he was aiming for his first slalom win this season.    
    “But after his problems in the following races at Kitzbühel and Schladming where he could not put as much pressure as needed on his right ski, we checked the leg last week in Helsinki with local experts and the doctor of the Finnish Alpine Team Eero Hyvärinen. They told us that it was to great a risk for Kalle to continue the season, that there was a 70 percent chance for him to fully break his tibia, which would have been a tragedy for his career.”
     “At that point, he preferred undergoing surgery right now to have more time to better prepare for the coming season and then the 2010 Olympics at Vancouver. The doctors want to put a metallic plate behind his bone for two months to allow it to rest and heal. After the operation we will discuss with them about Kalle’s re-education program. It’s not decided yet where he will rest afterwards, maybe in Croatia at the Adriatic Coast as two years ago.”
     Palander, the surprising slalom World Champion at Vail in February 1999, is one of the leading slalom and giant slalom specialists since his tremendous 2003 season marked by his four consecutive wins and his slalom World Cup title.
     The following season, the now 30-year-old also excelled in giant slalom winning the two foremost “Classics” at Alta Badia and Adelboden. Two years ago he won a slalom at Schladming yet he injured his left knee at Are during a crash in giant slalom. Last winter he won again the giant slalom at Alta Badia, feat he repeated this season.
     Palander is living at Monte Carlo with his family. Last summer, he became a proud father of a baby girl, Oda Sofia, who he carried on his shoulder for her first day of skiing on New Year's Eve in Austria.

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