Defiant Petrov vows to play on

Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov’s agent has denied reports the Bulgarian has retired, following the announcement of his cancer battle.

It was revealed last month that Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia, which sprung reports that the 32-year-old called it quits on his career to fight the disease.

But player agent Stephen Hughes said the retirement reports were untrue.

“It is not true that Stiliyan has said he is retiring from football,” Hughes told Sky Sports.

“What he did say was that he was fighting for his life and that he will fight to recover.”

Fans of both Villa and Chelsea sustained a minute’s applause in the 19th minute of their Premier League clash on Saturday, commemorating Petrov’s shirt number in a fitting tribute.

Petrov, himself, released a statement before the Chelsea clash, thanking fans for their support.

“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 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 manager Alex McLeish confirmed he had spoken with his player, and said Petrov was defiant in the face of serious illness.

“He said: ‘It’s hard for my family but I’ll fight this’,” McLeish said.

“In the conversation I had with him he was solid as a rock. I know everybody who is really close to him will be really feeling it and he’s more worried about that.”