Herrlich returns after tumour battle

Under normal circumstances it would have been the story of the day but Heiko Herrlich's return in a 1. Bundesliga game on Saturday went almost unnoticed.

Tragic events
After last Tuesday's tragic events in the United States many players' and fans' minds were not on football. Herrlich himself said that he did not feel like celebrating but Saturday's Ruhr Valley derby against FC Schalke 04 was a special occasion for the BV Borussia Dortmund striker.

Brain tumour
310 days after he was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumour, the 29-year-old former German international was back on a football pitch. He may have only played the last 13 minutes of a game his side lost 1-0 but a few months ago it seemed he may never play football again.

Vision problems
Herrlich complained of acute vision problems before a match last November and examinations showed a tumour in the central section of his brain. There were fears that he might never play again but last April he was back in training. A few weeks later his wife, Sangita, gave birth to a baby girl called Noomi. "The most important thing for me was to stay alive to see the baby," Herrlich, who has won five caps for Germany, said at the time.

Hug for club doctor
In the 77th minute of Saturday's game in Gelsenkirchen, coach Matthias Sammer decided to send him on for Miroslav Stevic. Before taking the pitch, Herrlich hugged the club's doctor, Michael Preuhs. "He has looked after me so well and done things that have saved my life," Herrlich told Monday's Tagesspiegel daily newspaper. "There's nothing to be happy about at the moment," he continued, referring to the events in the United States. "But those 13 minutes were symbolic. They meant that I have put my illness behind me."