UHC player Halbig

Double menu ordered after shock in the Cup

Benno Halbig is fit again.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Benno Halbig is back! The backcourt player from UHC Salzburg is about to make his comeback after his injury in the cup game against Linz. The 26-year-old can only vaguely remember the accident.

In mid-December, UHC Salzburg wanted to spring a surprise against champions Linz in the Handball Cup. But shortly after the half-time break, Salzburg's Benno Halbig accidentally fell to the floor and lay motionless for several minutes. The shock among players and fans alike was just as great as the fears of a serious injury. The match was then abandoned and Linz were awarded the win. However, relief followed the next day: the backcourt player escaped with a concussion. He will make his comeback on Saturday in the first game of 2025 against Bregenz's Future Team.

By cab to the Mci
Halbig only has vague memories of his accident. "All I remember is that I wasn't allowed to move. And that I was in the ambulance, it felt like a minute," says the 26-year-old. After the doctors determined that he was spared serious injuries, he marched out of the hospital that very night. The cab driver took him to the station first thing. "I was so hungry that I went to McDonalds. I forgot that I had already ordered something and then ordered something again," smiles the Bavarian.

His cell phone rang almost constantly. Team-mates, coaches, work colleagues and the Linzers sent him messages about his condition. "There was never that much attention from a sporting point of view. I found it a bit too much."

From Saturday, he wants to return to his sporting role. "I'm not the big goalscorer or the most important player, but I think I'm doing a solid job," says the 26-year-old in a down-to-earth manner. Herbert Wagner's team will have to do without several players in the Ländle. In addition to the long-term injured Timon Glimm and Florian Stanzel, Max Musil, who is about to become a father for the first time, and coach's son Christian, who may be called up to the army, are also missing. "That makes it much more difficult, especially as experience shows that the future teams of the first division teams can draw on a fuller squad for home games," says coach Wagner.