But he remained close to the Midlands club during his recovery and trained with the Under-21 side at the end of last season.
Petrov said: “I’ve told Aston Villa that I’m ready to start a pre-season with them. Obviously, they will always have the first look.
“I’ve been working close to the idea for a year-and-a-half and I’ve managed to come a long way. I started gradually with slow runs then I moved to five-a-side and then 11-a-side and half a pitch, then Sunday League.”
“Manager Roberto Di Matteo has revealed the former club captain will travel with the group to Austria as he joins the squad at their training camp.”
Petrov, who joined Villa in 2006 from the Hoops, made 219 appearances for the club, scoring 12 times.