Palander's home return

The first men's World Cup race of the season will also be a first for his country, with Finland having previously hosted only women's races.

"If I finish in the top 10, that's great, and if I finish better than that it will be fantastic," Palander told Reuters.

The 29-year-old technical specialist injured knee ligaments when he fell in a giant slalom in Are in March.

He underwent surgery in Finland and then spent a 50-day rehabilitation period in Croatia before starting skiing again in August.

"It will all take some time for me to get back to my best, but I'm still hungry. I'm still moving up," said the Finn, who won world championship gold in 1999 and took the World Cup slalom title in 2003.

"I will be going for it in Levi, and whatever comes out of it, I'll have to be happy with it for now."

The resort, in the Finnish Laplands, hosts the first races of the season after rain and warm weather in Soelden, Austria, last month forced the postponement of giant slaloms on the Rettenbach glacier.