Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has confirmed that club captain Stiliyan Petrov has returned to the Midlands following three days of treatment in London.

The 32-year-old was diagnosed with acute leukaemia last week and has been in the capital to begin his battle against the disease.

"[Petrov's] had three days of treatment, I think he's coming back today for a few days and it's ongoing," said McLeish.

"He does request that we don't do a daily bulletin because the team have got important matters ahead, but the support over the last week for him has been fantastic.

"He's been really lifted by that and its made him even more determined to try to get rid of the illness as soon as possible. We're not going to see too much of him but I'm sure he'll pop in from time to time."

The Bulgarian midfielder has been part of the Premier League outfit for six years.