Chelsea legend Gianluca Vialli ‘very scared’ about cancer returning after beating illness twice

The former Chelsea player-manager has twice beaten pancreatic cancer

Gianluca Vialli has said that he remains “fragile” after twice beating pancreatic cancer and has admitted that he still feels “scared” whenever he feels unwell.

The former Chelsea player-manager and Italy international previously announced in 2018 that he had won a battle with cancer in the preceding year.

One year later, however, Vialli was once again fighting the disease.

But recent tests have shown no sign of the illness following two cycles of chemotherapy treatment.

“You never know until it’s been a few years with no problems,” he told The Times. Physically I feel good. I think I’ve got my muscles back. I’ve been working out every other day with my wife.

“But I am still very scared and very preoccupied.

“One thing that will take a long time to get rid of is that feeling, whenever you wake up or go to sleep with a little tummy ache or headache or a bit of temperature, to think, ‘Oh my God, it’s back’. You are fragile.”

Vialli added that his fight against the disease has helped him to learn about his “true self”.

“Nobody wants something like this but when it does, you have to look at it as an opportunity to get to know yourself better – the way you were, the way you are and how you want to be in the future,” he added.

“It’s inevitable that you find out about your true self. There was so much I realised I had to work on, to try to improve.”