Stiliyan Petrov has revealed that he 'cannot wait' to begin pre-season training with Aston Villa.
On Thursday morning, it was announced that the 36-year-old would link up with his former club for their pre-season trip to Austria next week as he bids to return to the professional game.
In 2012, Petrov was diagnosed with leukaemia, bringing an immediate end to his professional career, which began at Bulgarian side Montana in 1995 and also included spells with CSKA Sofia and Celtic.
The central midfielder will now be given the chance to prove his fitness at the Championship club, however, and is believed to be targeting a return to the sport before the end of 2016.
Im so happy I've been given the opportunity to join @AVFCOfficial 1st team for pre-season. I've put a lot of hard work to come to this stage
— Stiliyan Petrov (@StanPetrov19) June 23, 2016
And the last hurdle will be even tougher but Im physically and mentally prepared to jump over it! 👊🏼
— Stiliyan Petrov (@StanPetrov19) June 23, 2016
Thanks a lot for all your continuous support and I hope you all get behind the team whatever my outcome is! They need you more than ever💪🏼👊🏼
— Stiliyan Petrov (@StanPetrov19) June 23, 2016
During his illness, Petrov remained close to Villa and trained with their Under-21 team towards the end of last season and also helped out in a coaching capacity.
