Fabrice showing small signs of improvement

LONDON: Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba began to show “small signs of improvement” as his heart started beating without the help of medication two days after suffering a cardiac arrest during a match, the club said yesterday.

But while also announcing that Muamba’s arms and legs were moving, a joint statement from the club and hospital treating the player stressed that he remained critically ill in intensive care with an uncertain long-term prognosis.

The 23-year-old Muamba collapsed on the pitch just before half time in the FA Cup match at Tottenham on Saturday and his heart only started beating on its own again when he arrived at a London hospital’s heart attack unit that night.

Muamba has been in a critical condition since Saturday, but it was a more encouraging update yesterday.

“He is showing small signs of improvement,” the statement said. “His heart is now beating without the help of medication and he is also moving his arms and his legs.

“However, his long-term prognosis will remain unclear for some time. He is still critically ill and will continue to be closely monitored and treated by staff in the London Chest Hospital’s intensive care unit.”

The player’s fiancee has been issuing pleas on Twitter for the health of Muamba, who proposed on Valentine’s Day. The couple have a three-year-old son, Joshua.

“Fabrice WILL!! Pull through because God is good,” Shauna Muamba tweeted.

“Love u so much fmuamba keep strong we’re praying for u honey ... where there is life there is hope.”

Bolton manager Owen Coyle said the former England under-21 international is going through a “brave fight,” adding that the club had been inundated with messages of support, including one from David Beckham.

“There is a real hope he can come through this. When situations like this occur there is a real strength, a real unity, a real togetherness ... that has given (the family) an incredible energy,” Coyle said outside the east London hospital yesterday.

“That source of energy that everyone is giving off is really bringing them together as a family and that is important for Fabrice’s well being.”

Muamba, a former Arsenal and Birmingham player, fled to England with in family in 1999 to escape the civil war in Congo.