England soccer ace struck with swine flu in Cyprus

London, July 11 (ANI): England soccer ace Micah Richards is stranded on a holiday island after being struck down with swine flu.

The Manchester City defender was banned from flying back to the UK after falling ill with the bug during a break in Cyprus.

He is virtually trapped in his hotel room for fear of spreading the virus. On Friday, Richards was spotted blowing his nose on his balcony.

He fell ill last weekend while staying with 10 pals at a posh resort near party centre Ayia Napa, The Sun reports.

Richards was told to separate himself from friends after testing positive for the flu and moved into a five-star beach hotel nearby.

The star was due to jet back on Wednesday, but has been told he is not allowed to go until he gets a clean bill of health.

He is taking Tamiflu medication and now hopes to be well enough to fly tomorrow.

"At first I thought it was a really bad chest infection, or maybe alcohol poisoning. I felt so weak that I couldn't move or eat. My friends had to bring me drinks in bed," Richards said.

"When I was told I had swine flu all sorts of things started going through my mind. You see on the news people dying of it," he added.

Richards, 21, flew out to Cyprus after representing England in the UEFA Under-21 Championships in Sweden. (ANI)