RICHMOND, Va. – Legendary Richmond Kickers forward Matthew Delicate is on the road to recovery following surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his kidney a little more than a month ago.

“It was definitely a little scary,” Delicate told WRIC’s Chip Briere. “It just came out of nowhere. Who knows how long it would have gone before the tumor grew bigger to the point where it was actually giving me symptoms.”

The tumor was originally diagnosed when Delicate had an MRI in late May for a back injury suffered in training after a collision with goalkeeper Sawyer Gaffney. After surgery for a partial nephrectomy was conducted by Dr. Charlie Jung at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, tests came back to show the tumor had been benign.

“[Dr. Jung] said I think it was less than 1 in 10 cases that that was the case with my kind of tumor, so I was also very fortunate,” Delicate told Briere.

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Now, the 31-year-old striker – who sits second all-time in goals in USL history – is back in training, and hoping to recover quickly from the first surgery of his illustrious career and get back onto the field this season to help the Kickers push for a sixth consecutive playoff berth.

“The day I get to step back on the field will be a great day for me and my friends and family and fans,” Delicate told Briere. “It’s something I’m looking forward to.”