Aston Villa have confirmed that club captain Stiliyan Petrov has been diagnosed with leukaemia.

It is understood that the 32-year-old midfielder has been unable to train since Villa's 3-0 defeat to Arsenal last weekend due to a fever.

It has now emerged that the married father-of-two is suffering with acute leukaemia and will begin to undergo treatment following a meeting with a specialist in London.

Villa released a statement, which read: "We expect to learn more about Stiliyan's situation in due course and we move very quickly to support him and his family. During this time we ask that Stiliyan's privacy is placed ahead of all inquiries 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."

The Villa skipper has been with the Midlands side since 2006, when he made the switch from Celtic to the Premier League.