Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has come to the support of a poorly Bosnian teenager.

The Daily Mail reports Dzeko has been a regular visitor at the bedside of 16-year-old Aner Zelic, who was admitted to the Manchester Royal Infirmary weighing less than four stone because of a debilitating disease that turns sufferers' intestines into 'concrete'.

Dzeko, 26, learned that his compatriot was in the city and has since bought gifts and even made sure that the hospital in Bosnia was ready for Aner's return.

The £27m Blues' star has shelled out for a PSP handheld video games console, a trip to the Etihad Stadium to see City, and signed memorabilia.

Kindhearted Dzeko even bought Aner's mum a phone so she could keep in touch with relatives back home.

The youngster came to the MRI as it is recognised as a world leader in treating the illness, called encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis.

The hospital's surgeons carried out an operation to release Aner's gut and restore its function to allow him to eat again and put on weight.