Less than six months after his cancer diagnosis, Stefan Lainer was back on the field for the first time in a friendly for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 31-year-old from Salzburg was in the starting line-up in the 3-2 win against Dutch first division team Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday and prepared the first goal with a cross to Alassane Plea (17th). Lainer played the first 30 of a total of 120 minutes.
IMAGO/jdp/Jens Dirk Paeffgen
Lainer was diagnosed with lymph node cancer in July, but the full-back returned to team training in November. The therapy was effective and the disease has since been considered cured. The game against the Go Ahead Eagles from Deventer was Mönchengladbach’s only test before the start of the year next Sunday against VfB Stuttgart. Lainer should be introduced carefully for the time being. He played his last competitive game to date in May and his most recent international match in September 2022 (1:3 against Croatia).
An ÖFB teammate should also be seen in Germany again soon. Sasa Kalajdzic’s loan move from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Eintracht Frankfurt is imminent. The only thing that remains open is whether the Frankfurt team will also receive the desired purchase option for the striker. According to information from the “Bild” newspaper, Kalajdzic is scheduled to train with Eintracht on Monday. He was on the substitutes’ bench in Wolves’ FA Cup draw at Brentford (1-1) on Friday.
