Raheem Sterling joined a campaign to find cancer fighter Damary Dawkins a stem cell donor by visiting the 12-year-old in hospital on Thursday.
The Manchester City star attended University College Hospital in London on his day off in an attempt to lift the youngster, who is battling acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Dawkins, a member of Crystal Palace's elite player development centre, needs a bone marrow stem cell transplant 'as soon as possible' but none of his family can provide a match.
'Damary is a bright kid, they are a very nice family and I want to do everything I can to help,' Sterling said.