Sébastien Haller appeared to be in a good mood during Borussia Dortmund’s first practice session at the training camp in Marbella.
After two surgeries and chemotherapy, the goalscorer, who was suffering from testicular cancer, was part of the Bundesliga team’s travel entourage, which left Dortmund Airport for Andalusia on Friday morning. Later, Haller could be seen warming up with his teammates during the first training session. This fuels hopes that the BVB record purchase seems to be on the right track back on the pitch.
“We want to build him up very carefully. He moves with the team and has already gone through a few ball forms. He will also be there in the next few days, depending on how he feels and how he reacts to the stress,” said BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl.
The 28-year-old, who was committed at the beginning of the season for the BVB record sum of over 30 million euros, should continue his rehabilitation plan and train with his teammates on the pitch. According to reports, the results of the performance diagnostics carried out at the start of the week were encouraging. Haller could already be seen in team training on Thursday.
“He alone sets the pace”
In coordination with the doctors, a careful construction without pressure is planned. “He alone determines the pace,” said Sebastian Kehl at the start of the preparation. But the sports director also longs for the striker to make a comeback soon: “We want and need to play a better second half of the season than the first half. And Sébastien can certainly help us with that.”
Unlike in the past few months, a personal relaxation is becoming apparent at BVB. To the relief of coach Edin Terzic, the full squad of 28 players was on board. This increases the chance of working through the weaknesses. After the last two defeats in Wolfsburg (0:2) and Mönchengladbach (2:4) and the fall to sixth place, there is a great need for action.
The focus of the work should be the stabilization of the defensive, which has already allowed 21 goals in 15 games. During the nine-day stay, there are two tests against Fortuna Düsseldorf (January 10) and FC Basel (January 13). Borussia will play their first competitive game on January 22 against Augsburg.
Club info BVB squad
