Borussia Dortmund’s Ivorian striker Sebastien Haller has raised hopes he will be able to return to the professional game after undergoing chemotherapy for a testicular tumour.
Haller received warm applause from the audience when he walked on stage to present the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, which was won by Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois.
“Everything is fine. I am here because everything is OK and going as well as it can,” Haller told compatriot and event co-host Didier Drogba.
“It is important to be present at this kind of ceremony to show that we are fighting and that we are strong, because we represent a lot of people out there.”
Haller, whose shaved head reflects weeks of treatment, placed 13th of the 30 players nominated for the Ballon d’Or, which was won by France striker Karim Benzema.
Ivory Coast international Haller finished top scorer in the Eredivisie last season with 21 goals, scoring 34 times in 43 appearances in all competitions for Ajax in 2021-22.
Dortmund in no rush
After a successful campaign with the Dutch giants, the former Eintracht Frankfurt and West Ham player signed a four-year deal with Dortmund for a fee that could increase to 34.5m euros.
Despite his latest public appearance, Dortmund’s general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke has said last season’s Bundesliga runners-up will not rush Haller back into action.
“We are hopeful that he can play again in the second half of the season. But only he will decide that,” Watzke told Bild earlier this month.
“We don’t want to and shouldn’t put him under pressure. The tumour was massive and he has all the time in the world to return whenever he wants.”
Haller represented France at youth level before switching allegiance to Ivory Coast, and has also previously played for Auxerre and Utrecht.
He has scored four goals in 15 appearances for the West African nation and played all four matches as the Elephants exited this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in the last 16.
Source: BBC