Global Handball Medical Desk: PSG Pivots After Grébille Achilles Tear as Perez de Vargas and Reinkind Eye Returns

The summer offseason in global handball is a race against time. As clubs prepare for the grueling 2026/27 domestic and European campaigns, medical staffs are working overtime to transition star players from the rehabilitation table back to the court. The modern game's relentless pace demands peak physical conditioning, making the medical desk as crucial to a team's success as the tactical whiteboard.

For Paris Saint-Germain, the offseason brought a significant medical blow. French international left winger Mathieu Grébille suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, an injury that requires a lengthy and grueling recovery process. The devastating setback effectively sidelined the veteran for the foreseeable future, leaving a massive hole in the French champions' starting lineup.[1]

The injury created an immediate crisis on the left wing, but PSG's front office pivoted rapidly. In early July 2026, the club announced the emergency signing of 36-year-old Icelandic international Bjarki Már Elísson to fill the void for the upcoming season.

Elísson, arriving from Hungarian powerhouse One Veszprém HC, brings a wealth of EHF Champions League experience. PSG General Manager Thierry Omeyer emphasized that Elísson’s familiarity with the highest levels of European handball and his clinical finishing will be an invaluable asset during Grébille's extended absence, ensuring the team's ambitions remain on track.

While PSG navigates an acute injury replacement, other European giants are monitoring long-term rehabilitations. Spanish national team and Barça goalkeeper Gonzalo Perez de Vargas continues his methodical recovery from a devastating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in his left knee.

Perez de Vargas was forced to miss the EHF EURO 2026 due to the injury, leaving a significant leadership void for Spain. However, his return to the court is being handled with extreme caution, reflecting a growing consensus in sports medicine regarding ACL recoveries in high-impact, pivoting sports.[1]

Recent sports science data underscores the importance of patience in these severe cases. A 2026 study in the Journal of Human Sport and Exercise tracking elite handball players found that returning to play before achieving full neuromuscular symmetry significantly increases the risk of reinjury.[3]

Clinical guidelines now strongly advocate for delaying a return to knee-strenuous sports like handball until at least nine months post-surgery. Researchers have noted that athletes who rush back earlier face an approximately seven-fold increase in secondary ACL injuries, making Perez de Vargas's deliberate timeline a textbook example of modern medical best practices.[2]

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, THW Kiel is closely managing the return of Norwegian right back Harald Reinkind. A severe foot injury ruled Reinkind out of Norway's EHF EURO 2026 campaign, but his rehabilitation is progressing steadily as he aims to be fully fit for the autumn club fixtures.

Füchse Berlin is similarly tracking Swedish left wing Jerry Tollbring, who is working his way back from a calf injury that disrupted his international duties earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Serbian left back Miloš Kos is navigating the final stages of recovery from a persistent ankle issue that kept him out of the European Championships, with his club Erlangen closely monitoring his load.

The sheer volume of lower-body injuries has prompted systemic action across the sport. The European Handball Federation (EHF) recently deployed its first comprehensive Injury Prevention Manual, designed by biomechanics experts to help clubs integrate targeted strength and balance exercises into their daily micro-cycles.

National federations are also stepping up their medical infrastructure. In July 2026, Olympic Handball Ireland is releasing the early findings of a landmark injury surveillance project. Funded by Sport Ireland, the initiative tracks injury types and frequencies in the Senior League to establish new, data-driven national prevention standards.

Ultimately, the 2026/27 season will be defined as much by medical resilience as tactical brilliance. As players like Grébille begin their long road to recovery, and stars like Perez de Vargas and Reinkind near the finish line, the sport's evolving approach to rehabilitation is ensuring that severe injuries are increasingly a hurdle to overcome rather than a career-ending sentence.