Former Town keeper Márton Fülöp has revealed that he had a malignant tumour removed from his arm last week. Fülöp, 30, who spent a year with the Blues after signing from Sunderland in 2010, plans to take a break from the game while he recovers.
The Hungarian international, who spent last season in the Greek Superliga with Asteras Tripoli, underwent surgery on Wednesday and is set to receive treatment until the autumn.
Fülöp, who has moved back home to Budapest, had a previous operation in the spring when a biopsy showed a malignant tumour. However, the disease had been caught in time and the keeper hopes to make a full recovery.
He says he first noticed symptoms early in the year: "When training in February I felt a sharp pain in my arm, there was bleeding and I could feel that something was pulling the tendon that moves my middle finger, and I couldn’t straighten out my finger.
"Light treatment didn’t prove successful and I contacted Dr Ferenc Tóth, one of the country’s leading hand specialists, who recognised that my hand needed immediate surgery.
"Since then a long scar can be seen on my arm, but my hand recovered completely — I had no complaints and could return to playing.”
The biopsy showed some suspicious cells in the muscular tissue of the arm but there is no risk of the disease spreading to the lungs and the second operation and ongoing post-operative therapy were only required to rule out any further danger.
Fülöp says he’ll take some time off before looking for a new club with his deal with his current side up this summer: "My contract in Greece has come to an end and with a successful season behind me there were some great career opportunities put in front of me, but for the time being I cannot dwell on these, and I wouldn’t want to put a club’s management in such an awkward situation that they have to deal with my problem.
"I am sure, however, that after a few months I will be ready both physically and mentally, to continue playing football. What is more, I’d like to train between the treatment courses, as the doctors have said this is fine, and, in fact, they heartily recommend it."
A Get Well Soon, Marci Fülöp! page has been set up on Facebook and the player has thanked fans for their support: "I am very grateful for all the messages and good wishes - it really helps me during this period that many are thinking of me.
"I’ll be following the Facebook page and from time to time shall endeavour to publish my most important news, but I ask everyone, including the media, to respect the fact that I’d like to concentrate strictly on my recovery and will be unavailable for comment over the coming few months.”