Soccer:Everton legend Kevin Sheedy has been told that his bowel cancer surgery has been successful. The former Republic of Ireland international and current coach of the Blues Under-18s team is recovering well following his recent operation and declared that 'my life has been saved through early detection'.

The tumour, which was at an early stage, in addition to lymph glands that were removed during the surgery have subsequently tested ‘all clear’ which means that he won’t require any further treatment.

Speaking to evertonfc.com, Kevin said: “I will need regular checks to monitor my recovery. My symptoms were blood in my stools and a change in my bowel habits because I was always on the toilet.

“My mother died of bowel cancer two years ago and my father is in remission after a successful operation seven years ago.”

The former Everton and Irish midfielder is now recuperating at home and knows full well that a prompt diagnosis was absolutely vital to the success of his treatment. “I would strongly urge anybody who has concerns to go immediately to their GP,” he stressed.

“My life has been saved through early detection and I am told that over 90% who are diagnosed at the earliest stage are successfully treated. Don’t be embarrassed to go otherwise you could die of that embarrassment.”

Since being diagnosed with the potentially life-threatening disease, Kevin has been moved by the volume of support he has received from people both inside and outside of football. “I would like to say a massive thank-you to everybody who sent me messages of support, which I got from all over the world.

“It was very touching and really helped me to deal with my situation knowing that so many people were rooting for me.  It would be impossible for me to personally reply to everybody but I would like to make special mention of my surgeon Mr Skaife, all of his staff and the staff on Ward 4 at Aintree Hospital who gave me the best treatment and support that I could ever have wished for.”