Sam Deru, a volleyball player from Novosibirsk's Lokomotiv, was diagnosed with cancer.

Sam Deru, a volleyball player for the national team of Belgium and Novosibirsk Lokomotiv, has been diagnosed with cancer. He will undergo chemotherapy. This was announced on December 8 by the club's press service in its Telegram channel.

"After a routine check—up, Sam Deru was diagnosed with cancer and will undergo chemotherapy. <...> All our thoughts are with Sam, and we pray for his recovery," Lokomotiv stressed.

It is specified that the player's contract will still be valid during the treatment. Lokomotiv also issued an appeal to Deru, in which he called the upcoming treatment difficult and expressed gratitude to the club for its support.

"I am a very combative person, but the treatment will not be easy. Nevertheless, my goal remains the same — to help our team achieve important goals this season. In the meantime, I will be the biggest fan of the team from a distance!" said the athlete.

I'm 33 years old. He has been playing in Russia since 2019: previously he played for Dynamo Moscow and Zenit Kazan. Since 2025, he has been defending the colors of the Novosibirsk club. Deru became the champion of Russia four times and won the EKB Cup with Dynamo.

The connecting link: scientists have accelerated the search for effective cancer drugs

How the new technique will minimize side effects

Earlier, on November 22, it became known about the serious illness of the former football player of the Russian national team and the Moscow football club CSKA Evgeny Aldonin. According to the Russian Football Union, the diagnosis of a football player requires a long and expensive treatment. At the same time, the athlete has the responsibility of raising two children. A collection of donations was organized to cover the costs of Aldonine treatment.

Later, on November 24, commentator Dmitry Shnyakin reported that Aldonin was in Germany under the supervision of good specialists.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.