Aston Villa: Birthday tears as Stiliyan Petrov returns

The Bulgarian, nicknamed Stan, has been battling acute leukaemia since March and made a moving visit to Bodymoor Heath on the first day of Villa's pre-season which coincided with his 33rd birthday.

Petrov was presented with a cake by the club's staff and was comforted by team-mates James Collins and Andy Marshall when he began to cry as the entire squad sang 'happy birthday'.

And Petrov revealed today that the most difficult part of his treatment for the illness is over as he opened his heart on his battle with the condition.

"I know I've got a few more months of chemotherapy and I need to go through it but I think that the hardest bit is over and from now on I just need to wait for the result to be positive," said Petrov.

"It has been hard. I can't say it has been easy. It has been hard but I didn't expect anything else. Life is hard and we live in it. I have just gone through it – I have had good days, I have had bad days, ups and downs. That is the way it goes.

"It was great to see the boys. I had a tough three months but I'm over the hurdle at the moment. But that is the way it is. I knew from the start how it was going to be.

"I'm feeling better now, I'm back home for a bit and I'm enjoying my time seeing friends and enjoying my time with the family so it has been OK so far."

The midfielder, who played with current Villa boss Paul Lambert at Celtic, remains upbeat about his chances of recovery and insisted he will remain in a positive frame of mind as he continues his treatment.

"I've been a strong character since the start of my career. I always believed that you need to be patient and you need to believe in things and I believe that I will get better," added Petrov.

"I've been through a hard time but the doctors, nurses and everybody in the hospital has been great to me.

"I've had a lot of people with the same problem as mine and they've beaten it. I am just not going to stop fighting."