During the Swedish National Team training camp in Falun a year ago, Anton Persson confided to Langd.se that he had torn the cruciate ligament in his right knee a few months earlier. However, the plan was to continue the season, but at the end of January, he decided to end the season:

“I had a good period in the fall, but it got irritated again when I got on snow. The muscles in the leg became overloaded. And after being in perhaps my best form ever in Bruksvallarna, it just got worse and worse,” says Persson during the press conference at the National Team’s training camp in Meråker, Norway.

The athlete chose to have surgery:

“It was a tough period, even though it was nice to have decided to operate. I had read a lot before the operation, but it was worse than I could have predicted. It was like learning to walk again. And having three weeks without moving was tough for me, who is used to moving around every day. In May, we had a second operation, but it has worked well since then,” says Persson.

What have you been able to train?

“I have been doing a lot of sitting SkiErg (double poling machine). I think I’ve done the most of anyone in the world. I ran 10×1000 meters three times a week, so I was pretty strong in my arms there for a while. Then I borrowed Calle (Halfvarsson) kayak. There were many long runs when the weather was nice in June. But you lose strength in both legs when you can’t run. Right now, I am at 60-70 percent on the jump tests we run. You have to get up to 90 percent to run a “real” competition according to the protocol we follow, and it is a security for me as a skier to know that when I am ready for competition, I can rely fully on my knee.”

On Thursday, Persson did his first interval session:

“I must say that I was higher up in the ‘results list’ than I thought,” says Persson.

One person who has been impressed by Persson’s work to get back during rehab periods is coach Mattias Nilsson:

“Anton has done a very good job, and if it continues to go well, we will see him ski fast this winter. But we will have to be more patient than usual. This is the right time to work patiently and build basic capacity for the awaited championship cycle,” says Nilsson.

The upcoming winter season is a major championship-free. Still, three seasons follow with the World Championships in Trondheim, the Winter Olympics at Milano-Cortina (Val di Fiemme for the cross-country skiers), and the World Championships in Falun in 2027.

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