Tomasz Fornal's injury. Will the Polish national team leader play in the final?
Two matches, two wins, and a 6-0 set record. The Polish national team is heading into the 2025 VNL finals unscathed. Speaking of foot, unfortunately, Tomasz Fornal's foot twisted unnaturally during the Poland-Brazil semifinal. The result? Although the volleyball player desperately wanted to play, he ultimately decided to leave the court after the set ended, grimacing in pain.
Before Fornal was finally forced to retire, he managed to impress with his fighting spirit, serving opponents with an ace, among other things, and supporting the team in several actions. Coach Nikola Grbić didn't want to risk the health of his ace, and the match against Brazil was "finished off" by the receiving duo of Wilfredo Leon and Kamil Semeniuk.
There's every indication that Poland will start Sunday's match against Italy with this lineup. Although Fornal's ankle is undergoing significant treatment, primarily from the excellent Polish national team staff, it's difficult to assume such a significant risk would be taken to force Fornal into the starting lineup.
The news coming from the volleyball player himself is certainly a positive sign, as he posted a positive message on social media on Saturday evening, which we reported on in a separate text .
Additionally, a video has appeared (on the Polish Volleyball Federation's Instagram) from Sunday morning's pre-final training session, which Fornal participated in. Importantly, the footage only shows the ball bouncing off the receiver, not, for example, the attack itself.
It's also worth recalling that a similar situation – albeit more spread out over time – occurred during the 2024 Olympic tournament. Fornal suffered an ankle injury in the first group match against Egypt. The Pole ultimately returned to action in Paris in a match against Italy. However, the time between the injury and his return was much longer than the mere dozen or so hours between the semifinals and final of the Nations League season's closing event.
VNL 2025: Poland vs. Italy for the gold medals! When and where to watch the final?The final clash between Poland and Italy for the gold medal of the VNL 2025 will start on Sunday (i.e. August 3) at 1:00 p.m. Polish time.
Italy defeated Slovenia 3-1 in the semifinals, and Poland defeated Brazil in three sets. This will be a match between the European champions and the world champions.
All matches of the VNL 2025 men's volleyball final tournament will be broadcast on Polsat Sport. Additionally, matches of the Polish national team will be included in the schedule of the open-source Polsat channel. Online broadcasts will be available on the Polsat Box Go platform.
Read also: Michał Kubiak bitterly criticizes the Polish national team. "We can say it's cool." Read also: Poland vs. Italy, a clash of giants. There are scores to settle.
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