Handball: “I have a genetic anomaly”, Nikola Karabatic found the explanation for his phlebitis

At 39, the eldest of the Karabatic brothers, Nikola, has been out of action since last February. He no longer set foot on a parquet floor due to phlebitis (thrombosis) in his right leg which required treatment with anticoagulants. This is the third time in his career that the handball player has been affected by this kind of problem.

In an interview granted to the newspaper The Team, the player of the France team and Paris-Saint-Germain explained that he had found the source of the problem, “I have a genetic anomaly – not super rare – which causes me to have a level of an acid amino in the blood, homocysteine, which is very high. That’s rarer, and it’s a factor that triggers blood clotting easily. »

The detection of this anomaly did not worry the triple Olympic champion (2008, 2012 and 2020), who even said he was relieved, “At first, I said to myself: damn it! But in fact, it’s rather positive that we found something. Otherwise, they could have told me: it’s over, you don’t play handball anymore and you’re on treatment for life. »

“I really live day to day”

Karabatic will now be able to deal with this problem and should return to competition for the 2023-2024 season. “Now there is a reason and a treatment to put in place, a vitamin treatment to lower this level of homocysteine ​​in the blood. Once that rate goes down, it’s assumed that I won’t have any more thrombosis from injuries, fingers crossed, as soon as I’ve done the six months of treatment. »

He is not closing the door to participating in the Euros in Germany next January, but is not yet planning on the Paris Olympics, “I know that the Olympics are coming, it’s in the back of my mind. But I really live from day to day, it’s the best way to function because it can be quickly stressful to think about it every day when getting up, ”he explained.