9News Sydney anchor Peter Overton has opened up about the health scare that’s kept him away from the 6pm news desk in recent weeks.

Overton said that while he was on six weeks’ annual leave, his voice became “very husky and raspy”.

An Ear Nose and Throat surgeon then discovered Overton had a polyp on one of his vocal chords.

“They stick a camera up your nose and then down into your vocal chords,” Overton said.

“And then on a big screen you see your vocal chords and I saw this – it was like a big blister, a lump, just hanging off the chord.

”And I must admit, it scared the living daylights out of me.”

The polyp was removed during an operation three days later.

Overton returned home after a day in recovery, but was unable to talk for a week.

“It was interesting being mute,” he said.

“If I went to get milk, I’d write and email to myself and … I’d have to show it to someone.”

At home, he communicated by banging on the table, joking that his family “hated it”.

”I’ve worked with a great speech pathologist who has got me back to the point I’m at,” he said.

“And three weeks since the operation, I’m doing the news again.”

Overton said his “newsreader voice” was ready, but he was focusing on managing it and building up endurance.

“The human body is amazing. I’ve really learned that, and I’ve learned about the healing process, and I’ve learned about how intricate your vocal chords are and what they do,” he said.