Borussia Dortmund's Ivorian striker Sebastian Haller has played his first match after beating cancer
Ivorian striker Sebastian Haller has made his first appearance on the pitch after winning a six-month-long battle with cancer.
He came off the bench in Borussia Dortmund’s 5-1 friendly win over Fortuna Dusseldorf to play for the first time since July 2022, when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Haller underwent two surgeries, chemotherapy, and other treatments to recover from the condition. By the end of 2022, he was finally given the all-clear to join the team, and he started training again.
Haller makes Dortmund return
He played for 16 minutes against Dusseldorf, coming on for teenager Youssufa Muokoko in the 74th minute of the tie.
Haller is likely to get more game time when Dortmund take on Basel in three days in their final preparatory game for the return of the Bundesliga.
Haller still awaiting a competitive Dortmund debut
Dortmund will be hoping that Haller will be back to full fitness at some point this season, and he could even make a return to competitive football when BVB return to Bundesliga action against Augsburg later in January.
If all goes well, Haller could finally make his long-awaited Dortmund debut after completing a €31 million transfer from Ajax in the summer.
Dortmund could use Haller’s help in the Bundesliga as they continue to fight for a place in the UEFA Champions League qualifying spots.
They are currently in sixth place after 15 games played and need to turn around their fortunes to overtake the likes of Freiburg, RB Leipzig, Frankfurt, and Union Berlin.
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