After recovering from cancer: Gladbach professional Lainer makes a comeback with an assist

Win against Go Ahead Eagles

Stefan Lainer celebrated his comeback at Borussia Mönchengladbach after recovering from cancer. The 31-year-old was in the starting line-up on Saturday in Go Ahead Eagles’ 3-2 friendly win against the Dutch first division team and prepared Alassane Pléa’s opening goal (17th). The other Gladbach goals were scored by Robin Hack (43rd) and U23 player Shio Fukuda (114th). Oliver Edvardsen (79th) and Darío Serra (87th) scored for the guests to make it 2-2.

During the summer preparation, Lainer was diagnosed with lymph node cancer. The Austrian right-back returned to training in November after his treatment and has now made his first appearance. Lainer played four times for 30 minutes and half an hour in the test and should be introduced carefully in the coming weeks. The game was considered a dress rehearsal for the “Fohlen” for the first game of the second half of the season on January 14th against VfB Stuttgart. With 17 points, Borussia are in twelfth place (in the Bundesliga table).

At the end of November, Lainer, who has been the fourth most expensive signing in the club’s history since 2019 with a transfer fee of 12.5 million euros, said: “I’m really happy that I can concentrate fully on football again and train with the team. The last few weeks and months have been a big challenge. I am very grateful to have received so much support from family, friends, the club and the fans during this time. All of this gave me strength. I would especially like to thank my wife and Doctor Sellmann, who were the most important of many supports during this time.” The Austrian played his last competitive game to date on May 27, 2023 in a 2-0 win against FC Augsburg.

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