Gustav Lundgren, 30, suffered a serious Achilles tendon rupture during warm-up before Gais' Allsvenskan premiere against Djurgården at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg on April 6. The Swedish national team player confirmed the injury himself and expressed shock. The premiere match ended in a 0–1 loss for Gais.
Gustav Lundgren suddenly went down on the grass during warm-up before Gais' match against Djurgården on Easter Monday. He limped off without contact from any other player. After the match, which Djurgården won 1–0 in front of 17,165 spectators, Lundgren told TV4: "The Achilles seems to have ruptured. I'm a bit in shock."
Lundgren, with Gais since 2022, substituted in Sweden's World Cup qualifying playoff final against Poland last Tuesday. In the 81st minute, he was involved in Viktor Gyökeres' decisive 3–2 goal securing the spot in the USA, Canada, and Mexico World Cup. He debuted for the national team last November, scoring against Slovenia.
The injury means long rehabilitation and likely missing the World Cup summer. Hammarby captain Nahir Besara expressed sympathy in SVT's Fotbollsstudion: "It breaks in the heart for his sake." Columnist Therese Strömberg said: "The heart breaks."
Djurgården's Patric Åslund scored the winning goal in the 65th minute after a pass from Oskar Fallenius. Gais dominated the first half but Jacob Rinne made several saves.
