Bayern Munich Women goalkeeper Maria Luisa ‘Mala’ Grohs has been diagnosed with a malignant tumour.
Bayern say that the 23-year-old will be unavailable for selection “for the foreseeable future”. Her contract with the club has been extended by one year through to the summer of 2026.
Having joined Bayern from Bochum in 2019, Grohs has made 81 first-team appearances for the club including 13 matches this season, starting in their Champions League victories over Arsenal, Juventus and Valerenga.
“The disease is a challenge I didn’t expect to have to tackle,” Grohs said. “But with the help of everyone here, I’m sure I’ll overcome it and fully recover.
“I’m in the very best of hands with the doctors here in Munich and can absolutely count on the support from my team and the club.”
Grohs has won three German championships and a German Super Cup with Bayern. “With the contract extension, we want to do our bit so that she can focus on her recovery, and we want to show her that FC Bayern will forever be her home,” Bayern board member Max Eberl said.
Herbert Hainer, Bayern’s president, pledged the club will provide the goalkeeper with “all the help she needs to recover”.
Bayern Women sporting director Bianca Rech added: “We sincerely wish Mala a lot of strength and the best possible healing process. She’ll be very close to us, and she’ll always be part of our team. Everything’s geared towards her getting well and eventually returning to the pitch.”
Bayern are next in action on Sunday, November 17 with a home game against Carl Zeiss Jena in the Frauen Bundesliga.
(Mark Wieland/Getty Images)
