Villarreal present Borussia Dortmund with a signed shirt in a heart-warming display of solidarity with Sebastien Haller following his shock testicular tumour diagnosis earlier this week before 2-0 pre-season friendly win
- Villarreal players gave Borussia Dortmund a signed Sebastien Haller shirt
- The Spanish side presented the shirt prior to a 2-0 pre-season match victory
- Declan Rice told SkySports ‘everyone at West Ham is behind’ the former Hammer
- He complained of feeling ‘unwell’ during a training session on Monday morning
- After undergoing medical examinations, a tumour was found in his testicles
- Haller has now revealed he has completed the first step of his treatment
Villarreal players presented Borussia Dortmund with a signed Sebastien Haller shirt prior to their pre-season friendly.
In a touching display of solidarity, Villarreal gave the Bundesliga side the shirt dedicated to Haller, following his shock testicular tumour diagnosis earlier this week.
The LaLiga side went on to win the game 2-0 thanks to goals from star striker Gerard Moreno and Nigerian international Samuel Chukwueze as Dortmund lost their last game before the start of their season.
Gerard Moreno presented Marco Reus with a signed Sebastien Haller shirt before the match
Having started Niklas Sule, Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck in a back three for the first time, Edin Terzic’s side fell victim to defensive errors as they finalised their preparations for the 2022-23 season.
Haller was diagnosed with a testicular tumour earlier this week
Spanish forward Moreno opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time after beating an offside trap before finishing past Alexander Meyer.
Chukwueze then doubled the ascendancy after the interval by steering the ball past the ‘keeper from outside the Dortmund penalty box.
But the game was understandably about more than the result, as exemplified by the Spanish side, who echoed the messages sent out to Haller by the majority of the footballing world.
The Frenchman’s former team-mate Declan Rice told SkySports: ‘Everyone at West Ham is behind him and I think everyone in football is as well, you can see what type of character he is.
‘He’s like a big friendly giant, he’s so smiley. When he came here he was so enthusiastic, he wanted to work hard and score goals.
‘It didn’t work out for him [at West Ham] but what he’s done at Ajax and now that he’s got his move to Dortmund is a credit to him.
‘I saw on his Instagram that he’s had one operation already so his recovery is underway which is special.’
Several clubs have taken to Twitter to show their solidarity with the French striker, including former club Ajax.
Haller took to social media to share his progress following the first stage of his treatment.
Posting a picture from his hospital bed on Thursday, a smiling Haller tweeted: ‘Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know that Step 1 has been completed!
‘I would like to thank the @BVB (Dortmund) and the medical team who were exceptional with me.
Haller only completed his move to Dortmund from Dutch champions Ajax earlier this month
‘A big thank you also to all the nursing staff of the hospital for their support – benevolence.’
The 28-year-old Ivory Coast international joined Dortmund from Ajax earlier this month for a reported £27million.
He signed a four-year deal, after scoring 32 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions for the Dutch club last season.
Haller spent one and a half seasons at West Ham, making over 50 appearances, before the Hammers sold him to Ajax for £20.25m in January 2021.
Haller complained of feeling ‘unwell’ during a training session on Monday morning
He went and had some tests, and it was then confirmed that he had a testicular tumour
