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Yuvraj Singh was apparently thinking the worst was over. The left-hander, after battling the tumour he thought was non-malignant and his other fitness issues, was training hard at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore, last month to win back his spot in the team for the tri-nation ODI series in Australia.

And just when he must have started dreaming of donning the India colours, there came the bolt from the blue. While playing trial matches at the NCA, organised to assess fitness of the players coming off injuries following the BCCI directives, Yuvraj found out that the tumour hadn't gone away yet. In the medical tests he underwent on BCCI's advice, parts of the tumour were found on the artery of his heart. The BCCI, sensing something was amiss, sent him to the US on their expense for treatment, where the tumour was found to be malignant.

Jatin Chaudhary, his physiotherapist, asserted that the ailment was completely curable and Yuvraj should be back by May. "He will undergo a CT scan by the end of March. Rehab will start after that and he should be fit to play in May," he said. "He will need three cycles of chemotherapy."

Yuvraj, who's accompanied by his mother, has reportedly taken the blow on the chin and is hopeful of returning to the sport soon. "I am chatting with Yuvi almost everyday. From his messages I can make out that he is not afraid and is feeling very positive," said his former Punjab teammate Ravneet Ricky. "He has just finished the first cycle of chemotherapy and is already feeling much better," he said. "He should be back on the field in three to four months."

Dhoni doesn't know
Yuvraj undergoing chemotherapty for treating his "cancerous tumour" may have unnerved Indian cricket fans. But MS Dhoni feigned ignorance about the treatment. "I don't know the details since I haven't been in touch with him," Dhoni said on Sunday, adding that it will really be "tough" to replace Yuvraj in the shorter versions of the game.

Yuvi's not alone
Indianapolis: There can only be one winner in Sunday's Super Bowl but for two opposing players, a bigger battle has already been won, victory over cancer.

New York Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich and New England Patriots offensive lineman Marcus Cannon have both had to deal with life-threatening illness and came through their treatment to achieve their sporting dream, a place in the biggest game in American sport.

Herzlich was diagnosed, in 2009, with a rare form of cancer affecting bone and soft tissue.

He underwent a six-month's chemotherapy and radiation and also had a titanium rod inserted into his leg, which remains in place to strengthen his bone.

Cannon's treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma was less painful but chemotherapy inevitably weakened him.