Mumbai, May 12 (IANS): Mumbai City FC defender Amey Ranawade will never forget the day he received a congratulatory message from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from head injury.

The previous night, on March 13, during Mumbai City's Indian Super League (ISL) title clash against ATK Mohun Bagan, Ranawade suffered a concussion going for header and had to be stretchered out in an unconscious state.

The next day, along with the news of his club winning the title by a 2-1 margin, the 23-year-old received a message from Guardiola, delivered to him via officials of the City Football Group.

The message said: "Amey, I'm Pep. First of all, congratulations for the league -- well deserved. I heard that you're having a concussion and you're in hospital. Hopefully, you can recover as soon as possible; you can get back home and celebrate this victory with your family, friends and teammates. Stay safe, stay well and I wish you all the best."

City Football Group is the parent group of Manchester City and Mumbai City.

"I don't think I ever dreamt about something like this. Being an Indian footballer, I don't think anyone can even think of getting a message from Pep personally. To see that the morning after a night like that was magical," Ranawade was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times.

Two months on, Ranawade says he hardly knows what happened on that fateful night.

"I don't remember any of that; the doctors told me I never will because of the concussion. I was told I wanted to carry on playing. It was only the next morning that my friends, family and doctors told me what had happened," the defender said.