Danish national team struck by severe food poisoning before European Championships

[p]Almost the entire Danish national volleyball team is battling illness ahead of the European Championship in Finland, says sports director Sebastian Mikelsons.[/p][p]The team is facing several issues, but the sports director expects the full squad to be ready when Denmark face Finland in the opening match on Thursday.[/p][p]The Danes have traveled to the Finnish city of Tampere, where Denmark will play all five of its group matches; the group also includes the Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium, and Serbia.[/p][embed guid="1496e29a-fd1c-4013-ae18-02334964ae6e" url="https://x.com/VolleyActu/status/2097647180718743913" social-type="twitter" /][p]However, problems have arisen before the tournament has even begun, says national team Sports Director Sebastian Mikelsons. Eight to ten players are suffering from food poisoning.[/p][p]"Almost the entire squad is struggling with upset stomachs," says Mikelsons. [b]"It’s not exactly ideal when it comes to getting enough food and fluids, considering the match is tomorrow."[/b][/p][p]The team suspects a specific dinner was the culprit.[/p][p][b]"A great many of them ate something bad—likely the day before yesterday (Monday). We suspect it happened during the bus ride from Helsinki Airport to Tampere. The stop we made at a restaurant for dinner didn't agree with eight, nine, or ten of the players."[/b][/p][p]The players have been struggling with upset stomachs since then, but things could be worse, he notes.[/p][p]"Everyone has been able to leave their hotel rooms and complete two-hour training sessions, so we expect everyone to be ready to play."[/p]