A few months ago, Manuel Zehnder was deep into rehab, far from the spotlight and full of uncertainty. Now he is back on one of handball’s biggest stages, performing with confidence for Switzerland.
“Just being able to play handball again feels amazing,” Manuel Zehnder says in an exclusive interview with GoHandball.
Seeing Manuel Zehnder back on the court at a European Championship, it is easy to forget how close his journey came to stopping altogether. The pace is there. The confidence is there. And most importantly, the joy is there.
For Zehnder himself, simply being able to compete again outweighs everything else.
“It feels really good,” he says when GoHandball sits down with him at the player hotel in Malmö.
“I’m just really happy to play handball again. It doesn’t matter what stage it is – just being able to perform and play handball feels amazing. Of course, the Euros are one of the biggest stages, so that gives it something extra.”
Handball has always been more than a profession for him. During the long months away from the court, that became clearer than ever.
“It means everything to me,” Zehnder adds.
“After my family, handball is the biggest part of my life.”
The Euros were not in his mind
When the knee injury happened, thoughts of a European Championship were not part of the immediate picture. The focus was survival, recovery, and taking things one step at a time.
“At the beginning, it was never really the plan. I never told myself that I had to play the Euros. I just focused on my rehab and said to myself: if I feel 100 percent in December, then I will try.”
Even with that mindset, doubt was unavoidable.
“Of course there were doubts,” he admits.
The seriousness of the injury was clear from the very first moment.
“Immediately,” Zehnder says when asked when he realized it would be a long recovery.
“I had never felt that much pain on a handball court before. Right away, I knew this was something different.”
“Maybe I can still play handball”
The weeks that followed tested him both physically and mentally. But rather than getting stuck in frustration, Zehnder found stability in structure.
“I think it was okay overall. The first few days were tough, emotionally. But I changed pretty quickly. I had a good rehab plan, and that helped a lot.”
There were key moments along the way when belief slowly returned. Not dramatic breakthroughs, but small confirmations that his body, and his game, were coming back.
“The first big step was my first six-against-six training with Magdeburg. That was the moment I felt: maybe I can still play handball.”
The next steps came on the biggest possible stage.
“And then of course the games in January. The first match at the Euros was another huge step.”
What stands out is not just that Zehnder is back, but how he is back. He looks confident, decisive, and comfortable, something he demanded from himself throughout the process.
“I always said to myself that if I come back, I want to play at 100 percent. Never at 80 percent. Now I feel 100 percent again, in my knee and in my abilities.”
There was never any interest in easing back just to participate.
“I just told myself: play handball, because that’s what I love.”
Naturally, the injury did leave traces in the early phase. Certain situations required patience and mental work before full trust returned.
“In the beginning, in the first six-against-six sessions and the first games, I maybe stepped back a little from one-on-one situations. But now I feel I’m back to 100 percent there as well.”
The biggest part? Mentally
The biggest work, he admits, happened in his head.
“Of course I worked a lot mentally – how I want to react in games. But now the confidence is back at 100 percent.”
Going through such a long and uncertain recovery has also changed his perspective. There is more appreciation now, and more hunger.
“It’s not easy to come back from an injury like this. I always told myself: give 100 percent, maybe it works out, maybe it doesn’t.”
This time, it did.
A year away from competition also brought reflection, not only about handball, but about life.
“I learned a lot. I had almost a full year to think about who I am, and who I want to be, as a person and as a player.”
The result is a player who looks not just recovered, but grounded.
“I’ve taken some big steps in my life,” he concludes.
And now, back on the court at the European Championship, Manuel Zehnder is no longer chasing a comeback.
He is living it.