New Borussia Dortmund’s signing Sebastien Haller has announced that he is now feeling “very well” as the former Ajax striker undergoes treatment for a malignant testicular tumor.
Sebastien Haller fell sick during Dortmund’s pre-season training and a malignant testicular tumor was diagnosed after undergoing a series of medical tests.
Dortmund announced that their new forward fell sick on Monday, July 18, 2022, during pre-season preparations, and had to be taken to the hospital for medical checkups. The club explained on their official website: “Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller had to leave the BVB training camp in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland, early due to illness and has already traveled back to Dortmund.
“The 28-year-old international from the Ivory Coast complained of being unwell after training on Monday morning.“
However, the 28-year-old Ivory Coast forward Sebastien Haller revealed in an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, that he is now hale and hearty. Sebastien said: “I walk every day and check my body. I haven’t lost that much after two weeks. I’m even at the same level as a few months ago. That’s a good sign and I hope it stays that way. I feel very well.”
The 28-year-old Dortmund forward however noted that it would take him a few months before he can play football when he was asked whether he is now fit to return to football actions. “Let’s just say now is not the best time to take that step because it will take me a few months”, Sebastien Haller disclosed.
“The important thing is that I don’t lose too much muscle mass. I have to stay fit and a month before I return to the field I will do some work with the ball again. Now the most important thing is that my body feels good. My first goal is to be back on the field, to play for ‘The Yellow Wall’, and score my first goal. That will be a beautiful and emotional moment”.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund brought in French striker Anthony Modeste from Cologne as a short-term stand-in for Sebastien Haller earlier this month; 8th of August, 2022 on a one-year contract.
The idea is for the Ivory Coast international to recover and return as the club’s first-choice striker after the club’s former talisman Erling Haaland left Dortmund for Manchester City earlier this summer.
The football career of Sebastien Haller
The 28-year-old Sebastien Romain Teddy Haller is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Ivory Coast senior national team.
Sebastien holds both France and Ivory Coast citizenship as he was born in France, to a French father and an Ivorian mother. Haller represented France at the youth level, before shifting his allegiance in 2020 to play for Ivory Coast.
The 28-year-old began his career in France with Auxerre on 26 June 2011 on a three-year deal, and moved on a loan contract to Utrecht on the 24th of December, 2015, before signing a permanent deal with the Dutch side.
After spending two years at Utrecht, Haller joined the German club Eintracht Frankfurt for a transfer fee worth €7 million on the 15th of 2017. In the 2017–18 DFB-Pokal, he scored four goals for Frankfurt, as the club won the final, marking the first trophy of Haller’s career. In addition, In the 2018–19 Bundesliga season, Haller scored 15 league goals in 29 appearances as Frankfurt finished seventh in the league table.
He stayed in Frankfurt until the 17th of July 2019 when West Ham United signed him from the club for a club-record transfer deal worth €49.8 million. Haller didn’t enjoy his stay at West Ham as manager David Moyes preferred Michail Antonio up front.
Haller departed from West Ham United to join the Netherland club Ajax, for a club record fee of €22.5 million on the 8th of January 2021, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Dutch club.
In his first six months with Ajax, he won the Eredivisie and the KNVB campaigns. Haller became the first player to score across seven consecutive UEFA Champions League matches during the 2021–22 season.
The Ivory Coast star scored an impressive 34 goals in his 42 appearances in all competitions for Ajax last season, including the Champions League where he registered eleven goals in eight games; a figure won only by Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski.
The 28-year-old Haller joined Borussia Dortmund from Ajax on July 6, 2022, in a four-year deal for a transfer fee worth €34.5 million as a replacement for Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.
Sebastien Haller is yet to make his debut at Dortmund since he joined in July this year due to an ailment as he abruptly left their pre-season training camp in Switzerland on the 18th of July after a tumor was found in his testicles during medical tests.
It’s good news that Haller is back to his feet and will possibly return to action soon as his surgery was successful.
