Bradley Lowery declines Chelsea invite to Premier League celebration but has 'massive' party planned for his birthday

The young Sunderland fan will spend his sixth birthday in hospital but has a big party planned on Friday to make up for not being able to travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend

Bradley Lowery, pictured with Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe, celebrates his sixth birthday on Wednesday (Getty)

Bradley Lowery turned six years old on Wednesday with a party planned for the “massive milestone”, but he has sadly had to turn down an invitation from Chelsea to attend their final Premier League match of the season this Sunday where they will be presented with the trophy.

The young Sunderland fan was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called neuroblastoma at the age of 18 months before going into remission after two years of treatment. However, he relapsed in July 2016, which led to him being brought into the public eye as a number of Premier League clubs helped to raise funds for his treatment, which is expensive and not available in the United Kingdom.

Lowery has been a matchday mascot for both Sunderland and Everton, and ahead of his sixth birthday this week, Premier League champions Chelsea invited him to Stamford Bridge for Sunday’s match against his beloved Black Cats.

However, a tweet from the official Twitter account that provides updates on his health confirmed that he is not well enough to attend the match this weekend.

"Chelsea invited Brad down on Sunday but unfortunately he is not well enough to go,” the post read. “Thank you for everyone for thinking of him."

But despite Bradley having to decline the invitation, he still has something to look forward to in the form of a birthday party on Friday to celebrate Wednesday’s special moment, and it wasn’t long before #HappyBirthdayBrad began trending on Twitter, with a number of clubs and players wishing him all the best.

Bradley’s mother, Gemma, explained what the family have planned for him on Friday even though he will remain in hospital, with a pre-planned holiday to the United States having to be postponed until he feels better and is able to travel.

“He’s been excited about turning six for such a long time,” said his mother.

“It’s a massive milestone. He’s really excited to spend time with his friends, we’ve got a marquee, fire-breathers, stilt-walkers, a disco, it’s going to be massive, he will absolutely love it.”

More than £80,000 has been raised to help fund Bradley’s treatment and he has also struck up a strong friendship with Sunderland and England striker Jermain Defoe, who has frequently visited him during his stay in hospital.