Haller nets friendly hat trick after cancer treatment

Sebastien Haller scored a hat trick for Borussia Dortmund in a friendly in opposition to Basel on Friday in his second recreation following treatment for testicular cancer.

The Ivory Coast striker transformed a penalty within the 81st minute and celebrated with hugs from his teammates. The second purpose within the 86th got here off a cross, and the third within the 88th after a nook. The hat trick spanned 7 minutes, 32 seconds.

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Dortmund received 6-0 in a recreation which lasted 109 minutes relatively than the usual 90 to present extra gamers time on the sector. The recreation in opposition to Swiss membership Basel was a part of Dortmund’s winter coaching camp in Spain earlier than the Bundesliga resumes subsequent week.

The targets marked Haller’s first for Dortmund. He was recognized with a testicular tumor in July, lower than two weeks after becoming a member of Dortmund as a substitute for Erling Haaland, who was offered to Manchester City.

Haller’s return to the sector got here on Tuesday as an alternative in a 5-1 friendly win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.

The French-born Haller led the Dutch league final season with 21 targets, and he scored 11 extra throughout Ajax’s run to the spherical of 16 within the Champions League. Without him, and following a spate of accidents, Dortmund have struggled within the Bundesliga and are in sixth place, 9 factors off leaders Bayern Munich.