BVB Star Sébastien Haller’s Race Against Time for African Cup of Nations

It’s a race against time! 17 days left until the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations.

BVB star Sébastien Haller still has 17 days to recover from his injury. Ivory Coast fans are hoping for a speedy recovery – and memories of country icon Didier Drogba are already coming back.

BVB star Haller with a rail at a charity event

Haller is currently with his national team colleagues in the Ivorian metropolis of Abidjan in the southeast of the Ivory Coast. As the team prepares for the opening game against Guinea-Bissau on January 13, the 29-year-old is receiving individual treatment.

But there can be no talk of individual “training” because the latest photos showed the BVB star at a Unicef ​​event with a thick splint on his foot and lower leg – the consequences of his short-term appearance in the last Bundesliga game against Mainz. It is unclear whether Haller will be fit in time.

BVB star Haller – The missed Christmas miracle

In the 1-1 draw against Mainz (1-1), the striker had to leave the field in the 85th minute after a foul by Jonathan Burkardt and BVB finished with ten men. Doubly bitter – because Haller was only substituted on in the 65th minute. Both on the pitch and during treatment on the sidelines, fans could see the severe pain in his left foot.

Haller was on the road to recovery after the disappointing first half of the season (only 358 Bundesliga minutes). Previously, he had hardly played a role under BVB coach Edin Terzic in the first half of the season, partly due to an inner ligament injury and illness. A year and a half after his testicular cancer, quite a few fans are asking themselves about the future of the highly gifted striker.

After his highly emotional comeback in January 2023, Haller showed what he was made of in the last second half of the season, in which he was on the pitch in every game. But this season, Haller’s knot didn’t want to break at all, or even loosen.

It wasn’t just the BVB fans who were hoping for a Haller Christmas miracle against Mainz. It became a Haller horror!

Bearers of hope for a nation – memories of Drogba

Nevertheless, some Ivorian fans would like Haller to play despite injury if necessary – and there is a good reason for that. Because a striker from the Ivory Coast, injured and in a splint just before a tournament? There was something!

Memories of the legendary Didier Drogba (45) come back. Shortly before the 2010 World Cup, Drogba broke his elbow in the final test against Japan. Nobody believed in the African storm icon being used anymore. After a quick operation, he received an exemption from FIFA. In the end, Drogba even scored one goal and set up another at the World Cup.

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The Ivorian fans are hoping for a similar success story in Haller’s case. The BVB attacker has an extremely high reputation in Ivory Coast and has scored in each of his last three appearances for the national team.

The 29-year-old is the great bearer of hope – and an entire country is trembling and hoping with him that Haller will win the race against time.

2023-12-27 17:59:36
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