Weber and Mertens nominated for home European Championships - Witzke missing

Philipp Weber and Lukas Mertens from SC Magdeburg will take part in the home European Championship from January 10 to 28. German handball coach Alfred Gislason named the duo to the 19-player squad on Thursday. However, Luca Witzke from Leipzig is missing. Preparation for the European Championship begins next Wednesday with a short three-day training course in Frankfurt am Main.

Weber's nomination was on the back burner for a long time due to injury. The backcourt player twisted his knee in the opening game of the Club World Cup on November 7. The SCM then announced that Weber would be out indefinitely. The 31-year-old celebrated his comeback last week, coming on as a substitute in the round of 16 of the DHB Cup.

Witzke did not win this race against time. The 24-year-old had been suffering from a thigh injury for a long time and made a brief comeback last Sunday against Gummersbach, playing just a few minutes. However, the injury has probably not been completely overcome, as Witzke was missing from the squad for the defeat in Wetzlar on Wednesday.