"Not being able to play hurts more than a broken thumb."

The reason: The 33-year-old broke the thumb of his right hand in Saturday's 0-11 defeat against Finland and is forced to watch from the sidelines today. And this comes at a particularly inconvenient time, as his home country and his adopted home are facing each other. After all, the Val Gardena native is currently playing his 19th consecutive season in Switzerland. "Not being able to play hurts more than the broken thumb," Kostner said on the sidelines of the final training session. "I would have loved to play for the sake of the team. But unfortunately, it's not possible."

The injury happened very unfortunately. "I got the puck behind our net and was skating forward when I was fairly checked by an opposing player. In doing so, I caught my thumb between the boards and my body," the father recalls. He finished the shift and only thought it was a minor bruise.

“On the bench, I took off my glove to ice the injury. After that, I couldn’t put the glove back on. I also couldn’t move my thumb, which was turning increasingly blue,” Kostner explained. The broken thumb was immobilized by the Italian team doctor with a splint and a bandage. Today, after the match, Kostner will return to Switzerland with his wife, where he will be examined and then operated on tomorrow by hand surgeon Ivan Tami. Diego Kostner in the duel against Sweden. © ANSA / FAZRY ISMAIL

The experienced forward regrets that he won't be reunited on the ice today with Michael Fora, a longtime teammate at Ambri. "I played against Roman Josi and Nino Niederreiter many years ago, before they moved to North America. I actually know every player on our round of 16 opponent," assures the unlucky player, who has been plagued by injuries recently and missed the entire 2019/20 season due to groin surgery.

For him, Switzerland is the overwhelming favorite today: "There are several exceptional players in Patrick Fischer's squad. That's why it will be incredibly difficult for us. Nevertheless, we won't hide and have to give it our all from start to finish. Despite the defeats, we've already achieved a lot. Hardly anyone would have expected our strong performances against Sweden and Slovakia. We can prove ourselves against Switzerland, too."

The Olympics were the biggest and most beautiful event to date. Despite the injury and the premature end to his Olympic campaign, Kostner will never forget the past few days in Milan: “The Olympic Games were the greatest and most beautiful event of my career. The experiences, encounters, and events are almost impossible to put into words. From the opening ceremony to the Olympic Village, through the Games themselves and the atmosphere in the arenas: all of it was indescribable and gave me goosebumps.” Kostner knows the Swiss star player Roman Josi very well. © ANSA / SALVATORE DI NOLFI

If everything goes according to plan, the defender, who shares a room with Giovanni Morini in Milan, will be sidelined for around six weeks. This would allow the Swiss resident to participate in the World Championship in Zurich and Fribourg in May. "That's still three months away. I'm really hoping I can be there for the European Championship," says Kostner, who has another year left on his contract with Ambri and will decide on his future after that.

"It was a very difficult season in which a lot happened. At Ambri, the coach, the sporting director, and last week also the president were changed. I hope we can still avoid relegation in the last six games of the regular season," the veteran player said.

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"Not being able to play hurts more than a broken thumb."

While his teammates prepare for Tuesday's game against Switzerland, Diego Kostner has to watch helplessly from the sidelines in the training rink of the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. And the center will also be watching the round of 16 game against Switzerland from the stands on Tuesday at noon.

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