The ability of Bobby Robson to see out the eight months remaining on his contract with the FAI to act as adviser to Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton was thrown into renewed doubt over the weekend when it was revealed the Englishman has again been diagnosed with cancer.

The 74-year-old informed the FAI of the problem a couple of weeks ago and made himself unavailable for the forthcoming trip to the US where Ireland will play Ecuador and Bolivia.

He revealed the situation yesterday in the British newspaper for which he writes a column but insisted he would, "battle" this fourth bout of the disease in 15 years, "as I've always done".

The latest problem comes in the form of lung cancer, a condition for which Robson underwent surgery last year. He subsequently had an operation to remove a brain tumour which left him with restricted movement but he has continued to work, travelling to Dublin for both of Ireland's recent European Championship qualifiers and attending games in England as recently as Saturday when he watched Newcastle United lose to Blackburn.

This time the former Ipswich and England boss will undergo chemotherapy for a period of six weeks after which he remains as determined as ever to return to work. "Of course, it's not the greatest news I've ever had," he says, "but I have fought hard throughout my life and I will continue to fight. My last operation was a success but this time the doctors have said they can't operate. The good news is they are measuring the nodules . . . in millimetres rather than centimetres. . . . I've been advised to keep busy and active and that's what I will be trying to do whenever possible."

A spokesman for the FAI said last night everyone at the organisation wishes him well with the treatment and "looks forward to him joining up with the squad in the autumn". It seems questionable, however, whether Robson will be well enough to travel to Denmark for the team's friendly match in August or to undertake a week long trip to Slovakia and the Czech Republic a month later.

Staunton will name his squad for the games in New York and Boston tomorrow. Jonathon Douglas and Ian Harte became the latest players to confirm their unavailability over the weekend.