After the win against Italy, everything is currently going well for the DHB team at the Handball World Cup – but there are health problems. Juri Knorr and Rune Dahmke will probably still be missing at the end of the main round against Tunisia. And then? Nobody knows that yet.
The two national players had to watch on television in their own rooms as their colleagues celebrated against Italy (34:27) and, thanks to Danish help, celebrated reaching the quarter-finals. Knorr and Dahmke were out at short notice due to a flu-like infection – and it is apparently so serious that Alfred Gislason will most likely have to do without the duo on Saturday against Tunisia.
“Bigger opportunity” with Dahmke than with Knorr
“I don’t think either of them will play in the next game, after that we’ll have to see how quickly they can come in.”said the national coach. Captain Johannes Golla also made it clear in the Sportschau interview that it was not a trivial matter: “They are already really sick, so we have to see how things develop from day to day.”
Gislason believes in the quarter-finals “a better chance with Rune than with Juri”a sentence that could certainly cause concern. Although Knorr has not yet been able to show the form of the 2023 World Cup, when he was the tournament’s best scorer, his record is still impressive with 31 goals (17 goals, 14 assists) in four games. His creativity would be a weapon in the knockout games that Gislason actually cannot do without.
DHB is moving to Oslo
Before the Italy game, Gislason was still hoping that Knorr’s condition would improve by the time throw-off took place, but things got worse. Next week, Wednesday (January 29, 2025), the quarter-finals for the Germans (opponents still to be determined) are coming up – until then it will be a race against time for Knorr and Dahmke. Gislason has already nominated Marian Michalczik, who is due to join the team in Silkeborg on Thursday evening.
Knorr and Dahmke are currently largely isolated from the team so that they don’t infect anyone. However, after the Tunisia game there is a move to Oslo, where the DHB team is aiming for a place in the semi-finals. Until then, it’s not just about losing as little energy as possible for a possible comeback, but also about being fit enough to get on the plane with your colleagues.
“Of course it’s a big concern that more players will come forward. But it doesn’t look like it yet,” said Gislason on Thursday evening.