Stiliyan Petrov wants to return to football with Aston Villa

Stiliyan Petrov says he wants to return to football and rejoin his former club Aston Villa in their bid for promotion back to the Premier League next season.

The Bulgarian was forced to retire from the game after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia four years ago and underwent three spells of chemotherapy.

However, the 36-year-old has been training with Villa's U21 team and, at the launch of the Stiliyan Petrov Foundation golf day at The Belfry next month, he said his fitness is returning and is keen to make a comeback to the professional game.

"I'm looking forward to a return to football again," he said. "I've told Aston Villa that I'm ready to start a pre-season with them. Obviously they will always have the first look.

"I've been working close to the idea for a year-and-a-half and I've managed to come a long way. I started gradually with slow runs then I moved to five-a-side and then 11-a-side and half a pitch, then Sunday league.

"I've been given permission to train with Villa U21s for the last four months. We've done a couple of tests in the last two weeks and my fitness is getting close to when I retired. I'm really excited and I understand the odds will be against me."

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The former Villa captain, who joined the club from Celtic in 2006, has been raising money for cancer charities during his recovery and has also been involved in coaching at Villa Park.

"People will be asking a lot of questions and having a lot of doubts," Petrov said. "Obviously I wasn't one of these players who sprinted in wide positions. I'll be playing in a position that for me has always been five-to-10 yards. You can gain that with hard work.

"I'm really excited because of how far I have come. The Foundation deal with a lot of people who work hard to get back to their natural life after treatment so I want to show people that there is a life after treatment and you can step on your own feet and get fitter.

"I'm getting fitter, I'm getting my life back to like what it used to be and it's a way forward. I deal with a lot of people who struggle to get their life back on track after going through treatment like that. It's hard. The family, the future, it's dark out there.

"I've got it in my mind, even if it doesn't happen, I've tried. It was taken away from me. I've worked hard all my life to be a footballer and it was taken away from me. I've been given a chance again to do it.

"I'm 36, but players are playing at 38, 39, 40. I've looked after myself well and I think I've got a good shout."

Villa were relegated from the Premier League after a dismal season which saw managers Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde leave the club and Petrov says life in the Sky Bet Championship next season will be tough.

"They're relegated not just because of individual error but collective error," he said. "Now they need to understand they have 12 big months ahead and everyone needs to pull in the right direction.

"Fans, the new board, the players, everyone needs to understand there needs to be a hard 12 months, it'll be a bumpy road, playing Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday. But if everyone pulls together then we can make this club great again."