BREAKING NEWS: Ex-Chelsea star Gianluca Vialli leaves role with Italy’s national team with immediate effect to focus on his second battle with cancer

By Alvise Cagnazzo and Nathan Salt For Mailonline

Published: 13:00 GMT, 14 December 2022 | Updated: 13:09 GMT, 14 December 2022

Gianluca Vialli is stepping away from his role with Italy’s national team with immediate effect to focus on his second battle with cancer.

The former Chelsea striker was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 before revealing he had received the all-clear in November of the following year.

But having been told in 2021 that cancer has returned, Vialli has confirmed he is stepping away from the Italy team’s dugout – where he helped play a key role in their run to winning Euro 2020 – temporarily due to health reasons.  

 

‘At the end of a long and difficult ‘negotiation’ with my wonderful team of oncologists I have decided to suspend, I hope temporarily, my present and future professional commitments,’ Vialli said.

‘The goal is to use all the psycho-physical energies to help my body overcome this phase of the disease, so that I will be able as soon as possible to face new adventures and share them with all of you.’

Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) added: ‘Gianluca is an absolute protagonist of the Italian national team and will be in the future. 

‘Thanks to his extraordinary strength of spirit, the Azzurri and the affection of the whole federal family, I am convinced he will be back soon. 

‘He can count on each of us, because we are a team, on and off the pitch.’ 

More to follow.  

 

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