Michael Carberry, the Hampshire and former England batsman, has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumour after having felt unwell in recent days.
Carberry was left out of Hampshire’s County Championship match against Warwickshire this week and Dale Benkenstein, the Hampshire coach, said it was so he could undergo tests.
A Hampshire statement on Thursday evening said: “Following recent reports about his health and now that he has spoken fully to his family, friends and team-mates, Hampshire can confirm that after a brief period of feeling unwell, a specialist has determined that Michael Carberry has a tumour that is cancerous. Further tests will be undertaken before the relevant treatment commences.
“He is grateful for the messages of support that he has received and hopes that he can focus on his treatment whilst the privacy of those close to him is respected.”
After Hampshire’s T20 Blast against Glamorgan, Giles White, the director of cricket, said: “It is terrible news, we are in shock. Our thoughts are with Carbs and his family at the moment. He found out a couple of days ago. It has been a tough couple of days for him the past few days and hopefully he gets through this. We will stand by him all the way through to help him and support him in any way we can.”
Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, said: “Michael has been part of the Hampshire Cricket family for 10 years and on behalf of everyone at and associated with the club, I would like to send him and his family our very best wishes at this very difficult time. ‘Carbs’ has taken on and beaten serious illness before and we will be doing all we can to make sure he does the same again this time.”
Six years ago Carberry suffered potentially life-threatening blood clots in one of his lungs. He has to take medication to control the condition, which emerged after he had suffered attacks of breathlessness while fielding and batting. He was diagnosed in November 2010 and did not play again until July of the following year.