Val Kilmer denies battling cancer following claim by Michael Douglas

Actor Val Kilmer has denied he has cancer after his friend and former co-star Michael Douglas claimed he was battling the illness.

Kilmer told fans in a Facebook post that Douglas was "misinformed" about his condition , and said he has not spoken to the actor in almost two years.

During a conversation with Jonathan Ross at London's Drury Lane Theatre on Sunday, Douglas, 72, said "things don't look too good" for Kilmer.

Douglas, who was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2010, and given the all-clear the following year, said Kilmer was "dealing with exactly what I had".

He added: "My prayers are with him. That's why you haven't heard too much from Val lately."

However Kilmer, 56, who worked with Douglas on the 1996 film The Ghost And The Darkness, swiftly moved to deflect the rumours.

"I love Michael Douglas but he is misinformed," he wrote in the post.

"The last time I spoke to him was almost two years ago, when I asked him for a referral for a specialist to get a diagnosis for a lump in my throat, which prevented me from continuing a tour of my play Citizen Twain."

Kilmer added: "I ended up using a team at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) and have no cancer whatsoever. I still have a swollen tongue and am rehabbing steadily.

"I hope this puts to rest any further concerns about my health by publications that have no respect for the truth."

"Whatever led Michael Douglas to speculate about my health, he's a loving and devoted friend to a privileged group of talented people around the world, and I'm sure he meant no harm."

The Batman Forever actor challenged fans who thought he was lying about his condition to "come see me live and happy in person".

Earlier this year, Kilmer denied several times that he was battling cancer while responding to fans on his official Facebook page, following reports that he had the condition.

He told fans that last year, he was "healed of a tumour in a matter of days", and had "no cancer".