Personnel concerns at TuS Fürstenfeldbruck before the Neuhausen game: two panthers are threatened with the end of the season

Created: 01/14/2023, 07:00

By: Andreas Daschner

Frustrated look: Panther goalkeeper Ivan Bilic threatens to be out for a long time after meniscus surgery.

© Peter Weber

After the Christmas break, the TuS Fürstenfeldbruck handball team continues their daily league game with a home game against TSV Neuhausen.

Fürstenfeldbruck – The Panthers start the new year with good and bad news: While the backcourt players who were injured recently have recovered after a four-week break, two others are threatened with the end of the season.

Before the game against Neuhausen on Saturday, 7:30 p.m. in the Panther cage, the Brucker TuS handball players had a nail-biter on the day of surgery.

Goalkeeper Ivan Bilic and pivot Benedikt Damm went under the knife.

Meniscus damage repaired at Bilic.

It remains to be seen how long the young goalkeeper will be out.

According to Panther trainer Martin Wild, everything is possible from five weeks to the early end of the season.

Things are hardly looking any better at Damm.

His injury doesn't sound too bad at first: broken finger.

However, the surgery was quite complicated, as Wild reports.

"That's why the end of the season is also in the air for him," says the trainer.

At least the TuS backcourt players are returning

The strain that striker Felix Kerst sustained in training sounds almost harmless.

There is still a glimmer of hope that he will be fit by Saturday.

Wild is still cautious: "I'm skeptical, it's going to be tight." All the better that the backcourt is finally fully occupied again.

Before the Christmas break, Wild the Panthers had massive problems here, and Wild sometimes had to call on players from outside their position.

But now Philipp Hlawatsch, Sebastian Meinzer, Johannes Stumpf and Jonas Link are back.

Hard work awaits against Neuhausen not only for the returnees.

The guests from Baden-Württemberg are only eleventh in the table.

But Wild is warned nonetheless.

“Neuhausen has the potential to be further up.

They are only in the descent vortex because they had injury problems at the beginning of the season," says the TuS coach.

Before Christmas, however, the Neuhauseners had shown with a win against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen that they have not written off the season for a long time.

Especially their speed game and their attack with 34 goals on average is formidable.

"There's a lot at stake for both teams," says Wild.

"I therefore expect an intense and fast-paced game." (Andreas Daschner)