ÖFB team player after cancer diagnosis: "I'm really confident"

2023-08-23 13:07:00

First of all, the Austrian International thanked for the encouragement in the past few weeks. “It’s not just talk, it comes from the heart,” said the 30-year-old on Wednesday in a video clip published by his club on social media.

“It was very valuable to get this support after the shock diagnosis,” Lainer continued. Mönchengladbach had made the diagnosis of lymph node cancer public in Salzburg at the end of July. Attention was drawn to the very good chances of recovery and the prospect of being able to do competitive sports again soon. Sports director Roland Virkus also quickly made it clear that Borussia would not hire a replacement, but would wait for Lainer.

However, Lainer now confessed that he had initially fallen into a big mental hole. He will do everything to be back on the pitch soon. “It hasn’t been all that easy in the last few weeks, but I’m really confident,” he said and announced that he would actually be able to return to the pitch soon: “I’ll fight for that now.”