Borussia Monchengladbach have revealed that the club's Austrian defender Stefan Lainer has been diagnosed with cancer.
Lainer will now be absent 'for several months' while he undergoes treatment, but Monchengladbach are confident that he will be able to make a full recovery.
"Stefan Lainer will be missing from action for several months. After medical examinations, the 30-year-old right-back has been diagnosed with lymphoma," read a statement on the club's official website.
"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."
Meanwhile, board member for sport for Monchengladbach Roland Virkus said: "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."
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Lainer started his professional career with FC Liefering and also represented SV Ried before making the move to Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2015.
The right-back made 171 appearances for Salzburg, scoring 13 goals and registering 34 assists, before arriving at Monchengladbach in 2019.
Lainer has played 125 times for his current club, scoring four goals and registering 13 assists, including 18 appearances during the 2022-23 campaign.
"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," Salzburg posted on their official Twitter account.
Lainer has also been capped on 38 occasions by Austria and represented his country at Euro 2020.
Matt Law
