STOCKHOLM : Sweden winger Gustav Lundgren will miss the World Cup after rupturing his Achilles tendon while warming up for his club’s league opener on Monday, less than a week after helping his country qualify for the tournament.
Lundgren played a key role in Sweden’s dramatic 3-2 playoff win over Poland, setting up Viktor Gyokeres for the 88th-minute winner that sealed their place at the finals.
The 30-year-old now faces surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation, ruling him out of Sweden’s World Cup campaign, where they are due to face Tunisia, the Netherlands and Japan in the group stage.
“I’m a bit in shock. I haven’t really understood what happened or what it means,” Lundgren told reporters as he left the stadium on crutches. “Everything indicates that the Achilles tendon has ruptured. That will be a fairly long absence, this season is more or less over.”
A late bloomer, Lundgren was playing in Sweden’s third tier as recently as 2022 before earning a call-up to the national team under coach Graham Potter.
He suffered the injury in Gothenburg ahead of his club GAIS’s opening match of the season, a 1-0 defeat by Djurgarden.
“Being in the World Cup squad was not something I took for granted, but it is sad not to give yourself the chance to be there,” Lundgren said. “It will probably take a few days to understand what happened.”
