Footballer Mesut Ozil requests help for infant with rare disease

Arsenal's German midfielder Mesut Ozil is requesting help for an infant battling a rare neuromuscular disease.

"I'd like to use my reach here on Twitter to help Metehan. Metehan is diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy - a genetic disorder. With your donation and your RT [retweet], we can save him together," Ozil said in a post on the social media site on Monday.

Ozil, 31, is a German citizen of Turkish descent. 

He helped Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

11-month-old boy Metehan Fidan has been suffering from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and needs a gene therapy called Zolgensma to recover.

The therapy is expensive, costing $2.1 million, said the website created for Metehan's treatment.

It added that Metehan's Turkish family, who live in the UK, are awaiting help as they "fight against the clock."