Fabrice Muamba not ruling out return

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba believes it is too early to say whether he will play professionally again as he continues his recovery from a cardiac arrest.

Muamba’s heart stopped beating naturally for 78 minutes after he collapsed during Bolton’s FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham Hotspur on 17th March.

He was unconscious for three days despite feeling “particularly fit” before the incident, and awoke to find he could only manage a handful of paces when he was helped to his feet.

He told The Sun: “I couldn’t believe how wrecked I felt.

“I only managed about five paces from my bed, but felt like I’d just run the London marathon.

“It was a shock feeling like that because I’ve trained hard all my adult life and like to think I’m in very good shape.”

The devout Christian, 24, stunned doctors after making a miraculous recovery and was fit enough to walk out of hospital just a month after the ordeal. However, it is not known if he will play professional football again.

Reliving his first steps, he added: “Once I was on my feet for the first time I felt like a toddler again – like my three-year-old son Joshua. I could barely put one foot in front of the other and had to be carried back to my bed – but it was a start.”

Muamba was discharged from the London Chest Hospital last Monday – almost a month to the day after he suffered the cardiac arrest.

He has been building his fitness by taking short walks with his fiancee Shauna Magunday.

“A few months ago I would think nothing of running miles, but now I’m tired after a 20-minute walk around the block,” he said.

“But now I’m making progress. It’s too early to say whether I’ll play football professionally again but I have great faith in God and I have hope, so who knows? If I can come back from the dead then perhaps I can achieve anything.”