At a press conference before hosting Augsburg on the sixteenth day of the Bundesliga, it was with a broad smile that Dortmund coach Edin Terzic announced on Friday that the list of available players had grown considerably.

And that it now has the Franco-Ivorian striker Sébastien Haller (28 years old).

"For him, the winter break was shorter than for the others, he worked until December 22 here. And between the holidays, he also worked hard, you could see that," said Terzic. .

Recruited in the summer of 2022 to make up for the departure of Norwegian Erling Haaland, transferred to Manchester City, Haller was only able to participate in a few sessions during summer preparation before he was diagnosed with testicular cancer just a few days. after signing.

Operated in stride, Haller then underwent four cycles of chemotherapy, and had to be operated on again in mid-November.

Striker Sebastien Haller, on his arrival at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, October 17, 2022 in Paris © FRANCK FIFE / AFP / Archives

At the beginning of January, he passed the medical tests ahead of his return to the club and was able to participate in the BVB training camp in Marbella, Spain, showing himself optimistic for a return to the field.

"Emotionally charged moment"

"It was a very long break, if you just look at the disease. But if you also look further, the last official game he played was with Ajax Amsterdam at the end of May, said added Terzic. We are simply delighted that he fully belongs to the group again, we are proud of him, of the way he fought during this period.

His first minutes in a Borussia jersey, Haller played them against Fortuna Düsseldorf, a German second division club, for around twenty minutes in early January, before scoring his first goals three days later against Basel, a hat-trick in eight minutes which totally reassured about his state of form.

Striker Sébastien Haller, in the jersey of Ajax, in the Champions League against Benfica, March 15, 2022 in Amsterdam © JOHN THYS / AFP / Archives

From there to being established against Augsburg?

In friendlies, Haller only played a maximum of 20 minutes.

And Terzic did not wish, as usual, to say more about his starting lineup, so as not to give any leads to the opponent.

"To know if he starts the meeting, if he comes into play or not, we will discuss it between four eyes", slipped the technician.

"It will be an emotional moment. The question is no longer whether it will happen, but when," Terzic said of Haller's first steps in front of the Yellow Wall at the Westfalenstadion, this stand closely 25,000 standing places, the largest in Europe.

Haller's debut is eagerly awaited by fans of Borussia, whose arch-rivals Bayern Munich are already ten points clear in the standings (having played an extra game).

This season, the Ruhr club lacks solutions in attack.

Striker Sébastien Haller during a speech during the Ballon d'Or ceremony on October 17, 2022 in Paris © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Frenchman Anthony Modeste, transferred in mid-August to take up the post of centre-forward in the absence of the Ivorian international, only partially fulfilled his role, scoring only two goals in twenty matches, including one in home to snatch a draw against Bayern (2-2) in early October.

© 2023 AFP