• Honduras international upbeat and ready to fight, says Malky Mackay • ‘We’re going to make sure that he gets the best care possible’

The Wigan Athletic defender Juan Carlos García has been diagnosed with leukaemia, Malky Mackay has revealed.

The Championship club announced last week that the 26-year-old Honduras international had developed a blood disorder and was in hospital for treatment. Signed by the Latics in 2013, García recently returned from a loan spell with Tenerife in Spain.

Mackay, the Wigan manager, said: “We’ve had some bad news as far as that’s concerned – he has a form of leukaemia. Juan Carlos is in the Christie Hospital in Manchester.

“The club doctor, Doctor [Ansar] Zaman, has been truly sensational as far as the care and attention with the whole dealing of the matter as far as Juan Carlos feeling ill and having problems – from that point to the point where we got him to a specialist quickly and got the diagnosis done.

“[The chief executive] Jonathan Jackson, myself and the doctor have had various chats on it. We’ve flown his mother, his wife and his sister over from Honduras to be with him and arranged accommodation close to the hospital as well.

“It’s something that is obviously a real blow for Juan Carlos’s family and everybody connected with the football club. We’re going to make sure that he gets the best care possible.

“I went in to see Juan Carlos and he was incredibly upbeat and his spirits were strong. He’s going to fight this and make sure he gets through this for the sake of his wife and kids. Everybody at the club is wishing him all the best as I’m sure that all our fans are.”