Sunderland star Jermain Defoe tweets 'love you' message to Bradley Lowery following hospital visit

Bradley, who has terminal cancer neuroblastoma, is currently in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary where he is undergoing pioneering antibody treatment to prolong his life.

After receiving his second bout of chemotherapy on Monday, the little fighter, from Blackhall, is now undergoing the antibody part of his treatment.

But the five-year-old Sunderland fan had his spirits lifted when his favourite Sunderland player Jermain Defoe and fellow players John O'Shea, Seb Larsson and Vito Mannone paid him a special visit yesterday.

Bradley even fell asleep cuddling Jermain in his hospital bed.

Jermain has since tweeted: "Love you little man #bestfriends."

His mum Gemma said the visit had cheered Bradley up and thanked the team for taking the time to see him.

"The visit went brilliant, all the lads were fantastic and really cheered Bradley up," she said.

"It is a very special thing for Sunderland and the lads to do and it was lovely to see how happy Bradley was."Bradley loves Jermain and made no secret of it when he was in the room giving him lots of cuddles then eventually falling asleep cuddling into him."