Robson, who took England to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990, told the Mail on Sunday in an interview: "On Wednesday I will have an operation to remove the tumour and as surgeons tell me the rest of my body is clean I should be able to make a full recovery."

Robson, who in a long managerial career has taken charge of PSV Eindhoven, Porto and Sporting in Portugal, Barcelona [ Images ], Ipswich Town and most recently Newcastle United, has recovered from three bouts of cancer in the last 15 years.

The former England international received a knighthood in 2002 for services to football.