Sebastien Haller returns for Borussia Dortmund in friendly after testicular cancer battle

FILE - Ajax's Sebastien Haller celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League group C soccer match between Besiktas and Ajax at the Vodafone Park Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021. Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller is back in training at Borussia Dortmund after nearly six months away from soccer with testicular cancer. Haller posted pictures Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, of himself training in the gym at Dortmund and said 2023 will see him return to the field. (AP Photo, File)

Less than six months after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, Sebastien Haller was back on the field for Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in a friendly game.

The Ivory Coast striker came on as a 74th-minute substitute for Dortmund in a 5-1 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf during a winter training camp in Spain before the German season resumes next week.

Haller required chemotherapy and two operations, the second of them in late November, after he was told in July that he had testicular cancer. The diagnosis came two weeks after Haller joined Dortmund and before he played a game.

Dortmund signed Haller from Ajax in the hope he could replace prolific scorer Erling Haaland after the Norwegian was sold to Manchester City.

The French-born Haller led the Dutch league last season with 21 goals and scored 11 more during Ajax's run to the round of 16 in the Champions League. Without him, Dortmund has struggled in the Bundesliga and is in sixth place, nine points off leader Bayern Munich.