Alabama football play-by-play announcer Eli Gold told me on WNSP-FM 105.5 on Thursday he is “free and clear of cancer” and says he working toward being ready for the upcoming season.

After a year-long health cancer battle that included about six months spent in hospitals and a nursing home, the Voice of the Crimson Tide revealed a PET scan last week came back clean.

“No cancer,” Gold said during his weekly appearance on “The Opening Kickoff. “I was free and clear of cancer. … Now, it’s just a matter of getting stronger and being ready for the start of the season.”

Gold missed the 2022 season because of health issues that led to a cancer diagnosis in late December. Before being diagnosed with cancer, Gold said last November he was aiming to return for Alabama’s spring game April 22.

“I don’t mind telling you we were bags of nerves,” he said Thursday. “All of us: my wife, my daughter. We were a bag of nerves. The doctor walked in and said, ‘Well, you are free and clear. There’s no cancer to be found anywhere.’”

Gold said he will have a follow-up appointment in three months and an additional PET scan in six months “just to make sure everything is kosher.”

Gold has faced health challenges in recent years, including having both of his shoulders replaced as he continued to announce games in 2020. Gold announced last August he would miss the start of the 2022 season because of unspecified health issues. A month later, Gold said he was “not sick” and instead was dealing with orthopedic issues that required significant weight loss. By November, he revealed he was using a walker and re-learning how to walk.

Listen to the full interview here.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.