Emil Holm’s return to Bologna is set to begin with medical tests rather than a place on the right flank. The Sweden international was carried off during the Nations League win over Romania in Solna, and Bologna now face the prospect of losing a player whose recent career has repeatedly been interrupted just as it appeared to be gaining momentum.
The decision
Holm will undergo examinations in Sweden before travelling back to Bologna for further assessments. Initial concern is centred on a serious hamstring injury, with a lay-off of up to three months possible. Surgery has not been ruled out, and the club’s next steps will depend on the result of those tests.
The injury arrived around the 63rd minute of Sweden’s 2-1 victory over Romania. Holm made one of his familiar high-speed bursts before pulling up in obvious pain, clutching his right thigh and immediately signalling for treatment. He left the pitch on a stretcher.
Sweden coach Graham Potter described the episode as “terrible” and said Holm was devastated. Potter had been preparing to replace the Bologna man only a few minutes later.
There is a painful symmetry to the moment for Holm. Last January, he joined Juventus in a straight loan exchange involving Joao Mario, fulfilling a childhood ambition he had publicly celebrated with a photograph of himself wearing the Juventus shirt as a boy. Within two weeks, though, a muscle problem had stopped him. Speaking with Sweden recently, Holm said that setback had cost him both the World Cup and his Juventus opportunity.
Before facing Romania, Holm had spoken plainly about the impact of his physical problems. “The most important thing is to feel well and wake up without pain,” he said. That wish now feels distant again.
His first Bologna campaign was already shaped by absences. Knee trouble delayed the beginning of his Serie A season until the fifth round, after four Champions League matches had begun with him among the substitutes. A later thigh issue ruled him out against Parma, Milan and Cagliari, while a calf complaint kept him in the stands for the late-season meetings with Udinese, Juventus and Milan.
In total, Holm missed 60 days through injury in that first year at the club. He had also been eased back gradually during the previous summer camp at Valles in Val Pusteria, spending more time in the gym than on the training pitch. The season before his Bologna arrival, he had won the Coppa Italia as a starter, having previously lifted the Europa League with Atalanta.
This season he has made five appearances: starting under Domenico Tedesco and later appearing from the bench under Raffaele Palladino. His absence leaves Palladino with a significant problem on the right, where the wide players are important to his 3-4-3.
Nadir Zortea is the principal remaining option, with Lorenzo De Silvestri also available. Bologna’s directors must now decide whether the situation requires a January-market solution. For Holm, the hope is that the medical verdict allows rehabilitation rather than an operation.
