Doubt hovers over the turn that will take the preparation of the French handball team for Euro 2022. While the continental tournament, often considered the most challenging in the world, begins on January 13, several cases of Covid-19 contaminations hit the Blues. At a press conference Monday, December 27, the staff of the France team took stock of the situation.
It was the doctor of the Blues, Pierre Sébastien, who opened the ball. If these contaminations are obviously bad news, we can hardly speak of surprise: “We were well aware that since the beginning of December the pandemic had been on the rise […] . We had a few small packages already before because of the Covid and we suspected, the players having met each other, that we risked having others.“What avoided the formation of a real cluster was undoubtedly the establishment of a protocol already used to prepare for the Tokyo Games. On their arrival at the Maison du handball (MDH), the players are isolated immediately in individual rooms. Then, all the players carry out a PCR test, return to their room where they each eat on their own. Pierre Sébastien explains that this is what made it possible to discover three more positive players among the summons , and even a member of the staff.
Since midday, the French team has gathered at the Maison du Handball for its preparation course. The RT-PCR tests revealed several positive cases and therefore upset the collective https://t.co/SxsIxP8L8O
– French Handball teams (@FRAHandball) December 26, 2021
The protocol for re-entering the group is different from that set by the government. While this provides for a return of positives after a period of eight to 10 days without the need for a negative test, the protocol of the France group is more severe. “If someone is positive eight, ten, or twelve days later, they won’t be let in. It complicates things a bit, we have a player at the moment who is fourteen days old, who took another test yesterday and who still does not join us because he is still positive.“, indicated the doctor of the Blues. Strict precautions, but obviously necessary:”If the players had contented themselves with doing the tests, sitting down to the table together and starting training, I think we could have spoken of a cluster.“, he confided. We will do new tests tomorrow, and see if we do not call on other players still with the same protocol for entering the group. Overall, this is what allowed us to avoid a first small disaster last night“, he also added.
For Guillaume Gille, the coach of the France team, this situation poses a health problem but also a sporting problem in that it is impossible to train in optimal conditions: “We had to guarantee the arrival of players who have already tested negative, which delays the arrival of these reinforcements a little but which will allow us, we hope, […] to benefit from valuable elements. Today, we are a little disabled to be able to play handball in a large space and to occupy all the positions.“, he lamented.
Guillaumes Gille nevertheless underlined the interest of an enlarged list of 35 names. “We made sure to test all those who are available and who are not part of the initial summons.“, he confided.”This allows us to make a first sorting between positive and negative, and then, behind, to be able to make a final choice in relation to the position and the possibilities of associations that each offers. So today it’s still open“.
Asked about a potential postponement of the Euro, the former French international remained cautious: “It would be a shame to sacrifice an international competition on the altar of the Covid […] Today, we are preparing as if we were to play this competition normally. While knowing that the very rapid evolution of the epidemic does not give us enough information to know what turn of events will take, and what decisions our European authorities and the host country will have to take“he admitted.