Anna Lagerquist broke the contract with her Russian club Rostov-Don, and says that she left the country the day before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Now she is in Sweden but has no opportunity to join a Swedish club because the Swedish transfer window closed already on 15 February.

- I try to make the best of it.

I try to see this as a chance to be able to give the body extra rest but also be able to train it a little better than you otherwise have the opportunity to, says Lagerquist to SVT Sport.

Lagerquist is mostly in Gothenburg but is in Lund and visits the family when SVT Sport reaches her.

Train with Sävehof's women's team

To keep her body fit for the upcoming national team gathering later in April, she follows a fitness program that the national team's fitness coach helped her develop.

- The pre-season started a little earlier than expected, laughs Lagerquist.

- I try to train as I would otherwise have done, the same volume and amount.

Now that I do not play matches, I can train a little heavier.

Had I played the playoffs now, I would have set up both strength and conditioning training differently.

The 28-year-old midfielder also trains with Sävehof's ladies 2-3 times a week.

- I appreciate that very much.

- Then I'm a bit more like an extra training player who helps where needed, but it feels like it's the best charge I can get before the national team gathering.

"Looking forward to next season"

The Swedish national handball team will play European Championship qualifiers against Iceland on April 20 and against Turkey on April 23, and Lagerquist admits that the recharging before the qualifiers is not optimal.

- It is clear that the most optimal would have been to play matches, but at the moment it is not possible, so then this is probably the most optimal alternative I have been able to find and solve, she says.

It is already clear that Lagerquist will play in French Nantes next season.

- I look forward to next season, everything is new and it is always motivating.

It's always fun to join a new team.

In Nantes I get a good whole and a balance between handball and life outside of handball and that was one of the reasons why I chose Nantes.