A fall, a scream, then the game against Sweden was over for handball player Samir Benghanem. The Dutchman still didn’t want to go straight to the hospital.
Shocking scene at the European Handball Championship: Samir Benghanem was apparently seriously injured during the Dutch game against Sweden. The Dutch pivot landed so badly on the indoor floor during a defensive attempt that his knee buckled outwards. The 30-year-old screamed and lay on the ground with his face contorted in pain. Team doctors and paramedics rushed to the scene immediately.
Benghanem’s teammates, but also numerous spectators in the arena in Mannheim, were shocked by the scene. The Dutch backcourt specialist Luc Steins put his hands over his face in view of the accident. As Benghalen was transported from the field, he wished his teammate a speedy recovery.
With a head bandage on the sidelines
He then proved that Benghanem is tough. So after an initial examination, he didn’t go straight to the hospital, but instead watched the outcome of his team’s game from the edge of Sielfeld in pain and with a thick ice pack on his knee. He also wore a head bandage. He needed it because he had already suffered a bleeding wound in his eye.
External support did not help the Dutch. They narrowly lost the last European Championship preliminary round game against defending champions Sweden 28:29. Nevertheless, the team qualified for the next round. Further medical examinations will show whether Benghanem can play again.