Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic will return to hospital to undergo another round of treatment for leukaemia after scans showed a risk of a relapse, the Serbian said on Saturday.

The 53-year-old, who has been battling a severe form of the disease since 2019, underwent three cycles of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant during his first battle with it.

“My recovery after the transplant [of bone marrow in 2019] was great, but unfortunately, these diseases are devious,” Mihajlovic told reporters at a news conference.

“From the latest analysis some alarm bells have emerged and there could be a risk of a reappearance of the disease.

“To prevent this from happening, I was advised to undertake a therapeutic path. This time I will not put in a slide tackle like I did two and a half years ago on an escaping opponent. I’ll get a head start.”

Mihajlovic added that he would be admitted to Sant’Orsola Malpighi Hospital in Bologna sometime next week.

A European Cup winner with Red Star Belgrade in 1991 and a Cup Winners’ Cup winner with Lazio in 1999, Mihajlovic also won two Serie A titles and four Italian Cups with Lazio and Inter Milan.

He took over at Bologna in 2018 with the team stuck in the relegation zone and performed a remarkable transformation as he led them to a 10th place finish.

Bologna have finished 12th in the last two seasons of Serie A and are in the same position now with 33 points after 29 games.