Cheryl Cole may pull out of X Factor this year

London (ANI): Cheryl Cole is believed to be too sick to do 'X Factor" this year. The singer recently contracted the killer disease malaria. Cole, 27, may also pull out of V Festival due to her illness. And her management are ready to put the October launch of her new album on ice.

The Girls Aloud singer spent third night in intensive care at a Surrey clinic and will take six-months to regain her fitness. Her condition is understood to be worse than feared and she is plagued with headaches and fever. "It is a lot more serious than first thought. Everyone thought she would pull through after 24 hours but there have been no signs of improvement," the Sun quoted a spokesman as saying.

"She is very ill and will not be out of hospital for a while. Everyone is holding their breath. Because of her hectic schedule, the malaria has really taken a hold. She has not got the physical strength to beat it. She is going to need all of her Geordie grit to win this battle," the spokesman added.

Cheryl is now in a specialist unit that deals with tropical diseases. A source said she was also "hit hard" by powerful medication used to combat the mosquito-borne illness - which can be fatal. "It isn''t pretty. There are fears that because she is so delicate, permanent damage has been done to her liver. She is so tiny - the medication is hitting her hard," the source said.

Even her dancer pal Derek Hough, 25, has been at her bedside along with her mum Joan Callaghan. The source said: "Joan is beside herself with worry."