Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he is suffering from terminal cancer.

The 75-year-old Swede has gone on to say that if things go right, he has at most "a year to live", but has vowed to keep on fighting until he has the strength to.

His most recent role in football was as the director of Swedish club Karlstad, a post he stepped down from 11 months ago.

Eriksson made this heartbreaking revelation on Swedish Radio P1. Speaking about the current state of his physical health he said, "Everyone can see that I have a disease that’s not good, and everyone supposes that it’s cancer, and it is. But I have to fight it as long as possible.

"I know that in the best case it’s about a year, in the worst case even less. Or in the best case I suppose even longer. I don’t think the doctors I have can be totally sure; they can’t put a day on it."

Eriksson, however, is focussed on not thinking about the disease and is directing his attention to the positive side of things, saying that it is the best way to overcome "the biggest setback ever".

Eriksson was appointed as England manager in 2001, and had the distinction of being the first foreign coach of the English men's football team. Under his tutelage, England made the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, the 2004 Euros, and the 2006 World Cup.

Despite the general dislike of him by the English football faithful, England under Eriksson saw an improvement in their football fortunes. At Eriksson's ouster, England were 5th in the FIFA World Rankings in 2006, a stark upturn from the lowly 17th they were in when the mild-mannered Swede took over.

He was also voted by the FA as the second most successful manager of England after the World Cup-winning manager, the legendary Sir Alf Ramsey.

Apart from England, Eriksson also managed the likes of Man City, Sampdoria, Lazio, winning the Serie A with the latter. He also managed the national sides of Mexico, Ivory Coast, and the Phillipines.

Wishing him a speedy recovery from his illness.