Soccer:Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has revealed he is taking inspiration from Fabrice Muamba after he was diagnosed with acute leukaemia yesterday. The 32-year-old is due to begin treatment in a London hospital on Monday, but made the trip to Villa Park today to watch his side's Premier League meeting with Chelsea.
Petrov released a statement shortly after arriving at the ground, thanking the football community for their support.
The Bulgaria international vowed to fight the disease and revealed he was using Bolton midfielder Muamba as inspiration. However, there was no official comment on whether reports in Bulgarian media claiming he is to retire immediately are accurate.
Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest during a FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham a fortnight ago, but has defied expectation in his recovery at the London Chest Hospital.
Petrov revealed a picture of Muamba sitting up in bed released yesterday had inspired him, along with numerous well-wishes, to get back to health.
“I would like to thank all of the people who have left messages of support. The response has been overwhelming and I appreciate it very much,” Petrov said. "This is a difficult time for my family and myself and I ask people to respect my privacy.
“With the help and love of my family, my team-mates, all of my friends in football, Aston Villa and all of the fans, I am sure I will beat this illness and I am determined to do this.
“I saw the picture released yesterday by Fabrice Muamba, my fellow player, and it has inspired me as has all of the support in the past 24 hours.
“For me, football will have to take a back seat for a while, but I’m here to support my team-mates today and I will continue to support them as I know they will support me. Thank you to everyone.”
Villa players wore ‘support Stan’ messages on their training kit whilst warming up for the game.
A message of support was relayed over the stadium public address system five minutes before kick off, while Villa fans applauded the Bulgarian as he and his family took their seats and did so again in the 19th minute, in honour of his squad number.
