27 July 2023 , 11:36
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Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach have announced that Stefan Lainer will be ruled out for “several months” after a lymphoma diagnosis.
The defender, 30, has been with the German club for the last four seasons following his arrival from Red Bull Salzburg. He has made 125 appearances for Gladbach - 18 of which came last term.
However, he will not be playing a role for the opening months of the forthcoming campaign after his diagnosis. A statement from Gladbach on Thursday read: “Stefan Lainer will be missing from action for several months. After medical examinations, the 30-year-old right-back has been diagnosed with lymphoma.
"The Austria international will now need to undergo several months of treatment. The cancer has been detected extremely early and is treatable with medication.
“There is an extremely high chance that he will get back to full health, and a normal life including professional sport could still be possible."
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"We will do all we can to get Stevie the best possible treatment. We wish him and his family lots of strength and optimism in the fight against this disease," said Roland Virkus, board member for sport at Borussia.
“Borussia Mönchengladbach and Stefan Lainer would like fans and the media to respect the fact that no further details on his treatment and recovery will be made public.”
Lainer was the subject of a number of tributes after his diagnosis was made public. His former club Red Bull Salzburg - with which he won four league titles and three Austrian cups - also penned a touching statement.
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A tweet from their official account read: “Our best wishes go out to Stefan Lainer, who has unfortunately been diagnosed with lymphoma. Thankfully, the prognosis is promising and Stefan has a high chance of making a full recovery. We wish him all the strength he needs during this tough period. Get well soon, Stefan.”
Away from his club career, Lainer also has plenty of experience on the international stage. He has 38 caps for the Austrian national team to his name having made his debut back in March 2017.
Lainer represented his nation at Euro 2020 as Austria reached the round of 16, only to be eliminated by eventual champions Italy. However, he has not earned a cap in over a year.
Lainer’s club Gladbach finished tenth in the Bundesliga last season - the second campaign in a row they have finished in that position. They will hope to improve on that but have lost a number of key players including Marcus Thuram, Ramy Bensebaini and Jonas Hofman.
They have bolstered their midfield options ahead of the new season though with the signing of German international Julian Weigl from Benfica.