Daniel Huber is having the best season of his career. The Austrian won the competitions in Vikersund and Planica, and in Lake Placid, Oberstdorf, Oslo and Trondheim he took places on the podium or in the top ten. This placed Huber 15th in the overall World Cup standings with 647 points. Moreover, Huber won the Small Crystal Ball, defeating Stefan Kraft by only three points.
The jumper's preparations for the new season were torpedoed by health problems. “Huber was also sidelined for several weeks of preparations in the fall due to a minor injury and now it is happening to him at the worst possible moment” – wrote Jakub Balcerski from Sport.pl.
– It wasn't a big injury, it occurred during the Continental Cup in Stams. We reacted because we know that Daniel has a much more serious knee injury in the past and needs to be careful with it. Sometimes he speaks up. That's why we wanted to play it safe – commented Florian Liegl, head of Austrian ski jumping in “BalcerSki podcast”.
Now there is new information about Huber's situation. Unfortunately, from his point of view, dramatic.
Drama by Daniel Huber. It's the end of the season. “I wish everyone health”
Huber informed fans on Instagram that this World Cup season was over for him before it even started. “The end of the season. Unfortunately, this is not the news I was hoping to tell you, but I look to the future with motivation that I have such a team behind me. I wish everyone health and a successful season,” the Austrian wrote on Instagram.
What exactly happened? Huber trained this week in Lillehammer, but after Wednesday's training he complained of pain and was sent back to Austria for thorough tests. His place in the Austrian team was taken by 22-year-old Maximilian Ortner.
“After Daniel felt pain in his right knee after Wednesday's training, the examination showed that it was caused by cartilage damage. Therefore, in the next few days, Daniel will undergo surgery on the cartilage and collateral ligament,” said the Austrian Ski Association (quote from: skijumping.pl).
The new World Cup season starts this weekend in Lillehammer. In Friday's mixed doubles competition, Austria took third place, just behind Germany and Norway. Austria's lineup included Lisa Eder, Jan Hoerl, Jaci Seifriedsberger and Daniel Tschofenig.
There will be two individual competitions on Saturday and Sunday at 16:00. Earlier, at 14:45, qualifications for both competitions await us. Live text coverage of the World Cup competitions on Sport.pl and in the Sport.pl LIVE mobile application.