"Hurts, of course"

Muscle injury for Bilyk! Will he miss the World Championship?

Austria's handball men will probably have to play without captain Mykola Bilyk at the World Championships in Croatia in January. The 28-year-old is suffering from a persistent muscle injury in his thigh and is therefore missing from team boss Aleš Pajovič's World Championship squad, which was announced on Friday.

"Mykola Bilyk's absence obviously hurts, but health comes first and I hope for his sake that he can fully recover from the injury," explained Pajovič.

Hutecek back in training
Bilyk suffered the injury on November 30 in the Bundesliga game for his German club THW Kiel against Wetzlar. Hopes of having the right-back available in January are slim. "We've already shown in the past that we can play well without 'Niko'. Now others have to take on more responsibility," said Pajovič. Lukas Hutecek is back in training following his hand injury and his participation in the World Cup does not appear to be in jeopardy.

In preparation, the ÖHB team will play a four-nation tournament in Plock, Poland, from 8 to 10 January before the World Cup opener against Kuwait in Porec on 14 January. Austria's other opponents are Qatar and France. The declared aim is to reach the main round, which would be played in Varazdin. This requires a top 3 place in the four-team group. The World Cup takes place from January 14 to February 2 in Denmark, Norway and Croatia.