Gianluca Vialli has announced he will be stepping aside from his commitments with the Azzurri due to ongoing issues with his health. The Juventus, Sampdoria and Chelsea striker was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 but managed to overcome the disease in 2018, receiving the all-clear from his doctors.
Vialli confirmed the cancer had returned in December 2021 and that he was battling the disease once again, releasing a statement that confirmed he would be suspending his duties with the national team for the moment:
“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.
“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. A hug.”
FIGC president Gabriele Gravina released a statement of his own, showing support for Vialli who was an integral part of Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri staff at Euro 2020:
“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.”
