Denis Spitsov leaves the World Cup with a broken hand and Sergei Ustiugov has not recovered from the injury he suffered before the championship.
Two of the Russian Federation's potential skiers in the relay are now leaving the championship.
- It is very difficult for us, but what should we do?
Now Norway is obviously big favorites in the relay, says national team coach Markus Cramer, to NRK.
It was yesterday that an accident occurred for Denis Spitsov.
During training, he fell so badly that he broke his left hand.
The Russian is now forced to undergo surgery and travels home from Oberstdorf.
He was one of the medal candidates for the men's 15 kilometers, a distance that he won Olympic bronze in 2018.
Sergei Ustiugov suffered from covid-19 last autumn and has had difficulty recovering from the disease.
It did not get better when he crashed badly when he test drove the World Cup tracks the week before the championship.
- It is a big problem and it looked bad.
He is in a lot of pain, Cramer told NRK then.
The thigh injury he sustained in the case is the reason why he left the championship, according to the Norwegian site.