Borussia Dortmund
The tumor is malignant: shocking diagnosis for BVB striker Sébastien Haller
Striker Sébastien Haller will be missing for months at BVB. His tumor turned out to be malignant.
© David Indianlied / DPA
Bad news from BVB: Sébastien Haller was diagnosed with a malignant testicular tumor. The striker is now undergoing chemotherapy and will be absent from the club for several months.
After the successful start of the season with a 3-0 victory in the cup against 1860 Munich, the mood at Borussia Dortmund was actually good. But just a day later, he announced shocking news to the club on his website: striker Sébastien Haller’s testicular tumor, which was removed last week, has turned out to be malignant. The 28-year-old will have to undergo chemotherapy and will be absent from the club for several months.
“Sébastien will now receive the best possible treatment,” announced sporting director Sebastian Kehl. “The chances of recovery are very good. We wish him and his family a lot of strength and optimism and our thoughts are with him at this difficult time.” At the same time, the club asked the media and fans for their understanding: No medical details about the player’s treatment will be announced in the coming months.
The diagnosis comes as a shock. For the player who reported confidently from the hospital last week. But also for the club, which has high hopes in the attacker, who came from Ajax Amsterdam for a transfer fee of around 31 million euros and is supposed to compensate for the departure of star striker Erling Haaland.
Will BVB get a replacement for Sébastien Haller?
With the shocking diagnosis, it has become more likely that Borussia Dortmund will strike again on the transfer market and sign a striker quickly. Recently circulated names of players like Edinson Cavani, Edin Dzeko. Mauro Icardi, Krysztof Piatek, Jhon Córdoba or Arkadiusz Milik. All of them would be available free of charge, but would probably call for very high salary requirements.
However, BVB will probably have no other choice: With the talent Youssoufa Moukoko, who is only 17 years old, they only have a nominal center forward in the squad. In view of the tight schedule, which includes almost exclusively English weeks with games in seven days until the World Cup at the end of November, a second striker is probably unavoidable.