The Red Hot Chilli Peppers fan sustained a torn ligament in the Euroleague game against Pau in January. The beginning of the injury was the most difficult, says Matinen. "When the team is playing bad, you want to play and help out and it`s just hard to watch and have so much free time." This was not his first injury. While playing in the Finnish league, he broke his wrist and missed two months of action. Another time, he also had to overcome a stress fracture, that put him on the sidelines for four months. For some, having an injury can sometimes help recharge the mind. "The good thing about my last injury was that I could get my head straight, get my mind fresh and think about certain things", says the avid ice hockey fan.
Matinen may have had a lot of free time during his injury, but he was not lazy by any means, but working extremely hard at recovering from the injury. "When you`re hurt, it`s easy to get lazy and gain weight. I was very strict, because I did not want to gain the extra kilos." He exercised a lot. He started to ride the bike. Matinen may have been even a bit too zealous about the excess exercising. "I started running and my doctor said it was a bit too early for that." Matinen clearly showed that he is not only focused in games, but also in his quest to overcome his injury.
His hard work during his injury paid off. In practice he looked very fit and was shooting with confidence. He made his debut after the six week layoff in Schwelm on Febuary 26th, scoring ten points. Matinen says there was a positive side to his inury time. "Before I was injured, I was struggling with my shooting and my injury really helped me get back on track."
The Playoffs are approaching quickly and Frankfurt will need every healthy body in uniform. "The injury was difficult, but I am the type of person that always trys to the see the positive side to all things", said Matinen. The injury might have hurt the OPEL SKYLINERS for a while, but it helped Matinen regroup and get even more focused for the upcoming task of helping Frankfurt reach a high Playoff position. The OPEL SKYLINERS will need a strong Matinen down the stretch and this injury seemed to have made a positive effect on him mentally and physically.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
