As part of the social-media project Tribüün and its programme series “12. mängija” (“12th Player”), Ivan Špol and Mario Tromp paid a visit to the captain of the Estonian national team, Karol Mets on his return to Bundesliga football after 344 days. In the episode, Mets provides insight into how and why his injury occurred, why the recovery process became so prolonged, and who offered him the greatest support during that period: “In hindsight, continuing to play despite the injury was not a wise decision, but I did not want to acknowledge to myself that I was injured,” the national team captain reminisced.
Initially, Mets hoped to recover without undergoing surgery: “I was told that it might be possible to heal without an operation. However, no one was able to specify a definite timeframe for my return. When the rehabilitation, which had lasted several months, began to suffer setbacks, I decided to relieve myself of that burden and proceed with surgery.”
The episode also includes the national team captain’s assessment of the recent qualifying cycle and about life in Hamburg, as well as his reflections on how he has attempted to support Abdoulie Ceesay, who transferred from Paide Linnameeskond to St. Pauli at the start of 2025.
The full episode is available on Tribüün’s YouTube channel with English subtitles.
