The retired Norwegian posted a picture of himself on Instagram telling his followers his path to diagnosis and encouraged others to be checked.

"I felt a change in my body," said Svindal. 

"I wasn't sure what it was, or if it was anything at all, but I decided to have it checked out. 

"I went to see a doctor and was quickly [transferred] to the hospital where they confirmed what the doctor suspected.

"Testicle cancer."

Despite the diagnosis, the 39-year-old has had positive updates.

"Tests, scans and surgery all happened very quickly and already after the first week I knew the prognoses looked very good," he added.

"All thanks to that first decision to go see a doctor as soon as I suspected something was off."

Fellow Norwegian Alpine skier Henrik Kristoffersen was one of those who wished his former team-mate well, as did his compatriot, rival and close friend Kjetil Jansrud.

Svindal is regarded as one of the greatest Alpine skiers of all time, having won five world titles and 36 International Ski Federation Alpine Ski World Cup races during his career, as well as two overall World Cup Crystal Globes.

In his final race of his career, he claimed a silver medal in the men's downhill at the 2019 World Championships, retiring afterwards.