Roberto Di Matteo has offered his thoughts on the returning Stiliyan Petrov, as the former captain steps up his efforts to impress the new boss ahead of the new season.
Petrov, who was diagnosed with acute Leukemia in March 2012, officially retired in May 2013 14 months after he had last played.
However, this summer has seen Petrov return to Villa, as he aims to secure a contract with Villa ahead of the new season and complete a truly amazing recovery.
The former Celtic midfielder took part in Saturday’s 8-0 victory against GAC 1902, playing the second-half against the team from the sixth-tier of Austrian football.
With Villa’s training camp coming to an end in Austria, Di Matteo has spoken to Villa’s official website about Petrov as Villa continue their preparations ahead of the new season.
Di Matteo said:
Stiliyan is an example of willingness and bravery to everybody that is here.
He has come into pre-season and not missed one minute. You can see how hard he is working in training. Then there’s the story he has gone through in the past.
The Italian also commented on Petrov’s dedication since returning to training and mentioned how much Petrov has impressed him on the tour of Austria.
He is very committed and very dedicated. I can see why he was a favourite and the captain.
Stiliyan has hit very good standards. As I said, he’s not missed one minute. He’s hanging in there. He’s doing very well. It’s quite impressive.
