Michael Appleton: Lincoln City boss diagnosed with testicular cancer

Michael Appleton took over as Lincoln boss in September 2019

Lincoln City boss Michael Appleton has been diagnosed with testicular cancer and will have surgery on Wednesday.

Appleton, 45, said in a letter on the club website: "A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with testicular cancer and will have the tumour removed this week.

"There are some quite scary words in that sentence. But this is quite a routine operation and indications are I should be back on my feet in no time."

Appleton guided Lincoln to the League One play-off final last season.

They finished fifth in the regular season, but were beaten by Blackpool at Wembley after a memorable victory over Sunderland in the semi-finals.

Appleton took over as Imps boss in September 2019, the fifth English Football League club he has managed following spells at Portsmouth, Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Oxford United.

"I do need to take a bit of a break and after the surgery will be taking a couple of weeks to recover," the former Preston midfielder added.

"This means I won't be in the dugout for some of our pre-season games, but will be liaising closely with the coaching team as we continue preparations for the campaign."

Chief executive Liam Scully said they would give him as much time as he needed to recover.

"It goes without saying that the most important thing is Michael's health, and we'll provide whatever support we can. Football is our secondary concern at times like this," Scully said.

"He will want to be back as soon as possible but I wish to be clear that he will be given as much time off as he needs and we absolutely do not want to see him back until he is ready.

"Plans for the new season are well under way. Michael has driven them and they'll continue on track. We are all looking forward to the new season and are right behind Michael, on and off the pitch."