Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov diagnosed with Leukemia

Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has been diagnosed with Acute Leukaemia the club have confirmed today.

The 32-year-old Bulgarian midfielder, who has made 185 appearances for Villa since he joined from Celtic in 2006, is set to have a period away from the game to deal with the illness.

Petrov had initially been ruled out of Villa's game against Chelsea this weekend with a virus however it has now emerged that he has been diagnosed with the condition which is a cancer of the blood.

A statement from the club said: "The Villa board received news today that our long-standing captain Stiliyan Petrov has been diagnosed with Acute Leukaemia.

"Stiliyan developed a fever following the Arsenal game last Saturday and subsequently underwent tests conducted by Dr Ian McGuinness. Haematology experts confirmed the diagnosis today.

"We expect to learn more about Stiliyan's situation in due course and we have moved quickly to support him and his family.

"During this time we ask that Stiliyan's privacy is placed ahead of all enquiries and trust that we will share information as we receive it.

"Stiliyan is cherished by many and he will get from Villa every ounce of love and support that we have to help bring this to a positive conclusion."