FORMER Derby County star Nigel Callaghan says he is lucky to be alive after a hidden tumour was discovered following a routine blood test.

The 47-year-old ex-winger said the cancer was caught in time because he was having regular examinations due to suffering arthritis. But he said that, despite the tumour's successful removal, he would still have to have six months of chemotherapy to make sure the cancer is gone.

The treatment will lower his immune system, meaning he will have to give up work, and could have serious side-effects.

But Nigel said: "I went in for a routine test and it's ended up saving my life.

"It could have been growing inside of me unchecked and if it had been left any longer it could have been too late to save me. I was lucky they found it."

Nigel, who made 100 appearances in two spells for the Rams between 1986 and 1989 and on loan in 2000, had been taking tablets for rheumatoid arthritis which had caused him pain for five years.

The medicine meant he had to have regular blood tests and it was one of these checks that led to his cancer being detected in mid-November last year.

He said: "In the October they told me to come in because they had found more white blood cells than red in one of the tests. When they examined me they got concerned and decided to use an exploratory camera in an examination.

"When they found the tumour the doctor told me it looked like cancer and my mouth just dropped open."

In January, Nigel, now a disc jockey, had successful surgery on the bowel tumour but doctors said he would need chemotherapy.

He was unable to work after the operation and his latest treatment will mean he has to take another six months off.

This is because his lowered immune system will leave him open to infection.

He said lack of work means he is likely to struggle for cash but a chink of light has appeared in a likely charity match featuring ex-Rams players. Nigel, now of Stafford, said: "Wages when I was a footballer were very different to now, so it's not as if I had a large amount of cash put aside.

"My top wage at Derby, for example, was £550 a week and that was when they were in the equivalent of today's Premiership. It wasn't brilliant money and the pension I got wasn't up to much, £240 a month."

He said the game was being organised by his friend, Lee Poulter, a Derby fan who is in touch with some of the club's current staff. Nigel said Andy Garner, of the Rams' first team coaching staff, and academy coach Micky Forsyth were already aware of the idea.

The match could take place within the next six to seven weeks, with the venue to be decided. Nigel said: " My friends and family have been supportive and so have the Derby fans who have been leaving messages on Facebook."

Nigel was 17 when he made his debut for Watford in 1980 and was involved when the club won promotion from the Second Division in 1982.

The club finished runners-up in the First Division a year later and reached the 1984 FA Cup final, in which he played.

He played nine times for England Under-21s, helping win the 1984 UEFA Championship.

In February 1987, Derby paid £140,000 for him to help give them a final push towards the Second Division title which they won that year.

Manager Arthur Cox had used Jeff Chandler, then Graham Harbey on the left flank but saw an extra touch of class in Callaghan. As the player most likely to create a goal, Callaghan played a part in Derby's survival in the top league in 1988-89. He joined Aston Villa for £500,000 in February 1989 – then a Derby record for an incoming fee.

It was not a successful move for him and he was happy to return to the Rams on loan.

He did well at the Baseball Ground but, when he returned to Villa, his career declined.

Nigel scored 13 goals for Derby in his two spells. He played for Borrowash Victoria for several months in 1995.

For the past five years he has been DJing in Warrington and Darlington.