David Silva says son ‘fighting day by day’ after premature birth

Manchester City's David Silva, right, vies for the ball with Watford's Ben Watson during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Watford at Etihad stadium, in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. (Rui Vieira/AP)

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City playmaker David Silva says his son is "fighting day by day" after being born prematurely.

The Spain international missed two of City’s four games over the festive period to return to his native country for what the Premier League club said were personal issues.

In a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday, Silva thanked City for "understanding my situation" and said his son, Mateo, "was born extremely preterm and is fighting day by day with the help of the medical team."

Silva played in City’s 3-1 win over Watford in the Premier League on Tuesday. After the match, City manager Pep Guardiola said Silva would be free to set his own schedule to deal with his family situation.

Guardiola said "he wants to stay because he enjoys it a lot, but family is the most important thing in life. It doesn’t matter if we drop a lot of points because he is not here. I will never push him."

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