TRAGEDY. Germany's Marco Russ, diagnosed with tumour after testing positive to dope

Captain of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, Marco Russ, has been diagnosed with a tumour after he had tested positive in a routine doping test, the Bundesliga club revealed on Thursday.

Eintracht were informed of the positive test on Wednesday prompting Germany's anti-doping agency (NADA) to suspect that the high levels of growth hormone HCG found in the sample were due to illness rather than the use of banned performance-enhancement drugs.

Further tests by the club revealed they were indeed due to a tumour, Frankfurt said, without disclosing the location of the growth.

Russ graduated from Frankfurt's youth academy, having been at the club for almost his entire career apart from a two-year spell at VfL Wolfsburg between 2011-13. He has however, insisted that he won't give up.

"Despite this tragic diagnosis the player has said he is ready to play, something that has been confirmed by the doctors," Frankfurt said in a statement.

16th placed Frankfurt play Nuremberg in their relegation/promotion playoff first leg later on Thursday.