Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov says he's using the recovery of Bolton Wanderers' ace Fabrice Muamba as inspiration.

Petrov has revealed he is taking inspiration from Muamba after he announced on Friday he had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia.

"I would like to thank all of the people who have left messages of support. The response has been overwhelming and I appreciate it very much," Petrov said.

"This is a difficult time for my family and myself and I ask people to respect my privacy.

"With the help and love of my family, my team-mates, all of my friends in football, Aston Villa and all of the fans, I am sure I will beat this illness and I am determined to do this.

"I saw the picture released yesterday by Fabrice Muamba, my fellow player, and it has inspired me as has all of the support in the past 24 hours.

"For me, football will have to take a back seat for a while, but I'm here to support my team-mates today and I will continue to support them as I know they will support me. Thank you to everyone."