Ivan Cupic is certainly one of the unluckiest handball players in the world as far as injuries are concerned. After losing a finger before the Olympic Games in Beijing, he was recently injured during a match for his Gorenje from Velenja, and will not be able to get back onto the handball courts for six months.

“I broke my front knee ligament and I will have to be operated on, due to which I will be absent for at least six months. First of all his finger, then he was nice to watch, now the knee is gone… It will be a big loss because he is our key player” said the director of Gorenje, Stane Osterlic.

This was a dream season for Ivan, it is true that he imposed himself as a key play in the team, as well as one of the key players in the national team. Everything was going as planned for him, constantly at the top, goals were falling like on a conveyor belt, and the knee “goes”. However, he held out with the loss of his finger, he will survive this too.

“I am young, I am only 23 years old” said Cupic, aware that many years of active handball playing are in front of him, and that with work anything can be done.

Now he is waiting for an operation, which is scheduled for April 21. He will then remain in hospital for three days, and then the most important part follows - rehabilitation.

“I expect to return to the courts by October this year. After that I will see what happens next, I have had a number of concrete offers for summer from the top five European clubs, but my contract with Velenje is still valid, and for all agreements we needed to contact the director of the club” revealled Ivan.

Easy for transfers, Ivan’s health is a priority

His wish is to play in the champion’s league in a large club, one of the world’s best, because he is aware of his qualities and potential. But the most important thing at this moment is health, because without it nothing is valid.

“The most important thing is to return to the courts, I am not burdened by transfers. I must show that I can play handball again. I consulted six or seven doctors and surgeons. They claim that it is a routine operation for them, but that it demands a longer recovery. That is the only problem, but my career does not come into question” said Cupic, but he is aware that he must be patient.

Had he not been injured, he might have ended up in Zagreb, because Zagreb’s manager Zoran Gobac announced his arrival. However, that will now need to wait, but it is not bad to hear that an option for Zagreb existed, and will probably exist when Ivan recovers.

“There were contacts. According to me Zagreb is amongst the best five clubs in Europe and everyone wants to play there. I am interested, and it is up to the clubs to agree, so we will see what we will do afterwards” said Ivan and gave hope to all the fans, and the players of Croatia’s best handball club.