FABRICE MUAMBA hopes his remarkable recovery from a terrifying heart ordeal provides inspiration for Christian Eriksen.
Former Bolton midfielder Muamba’s heart stopped for an incredible 78 minutes after he collapsed during an FA Cup match at Tottenham nine years ago.
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And the nightmare memories came flooding back when he saw Denmark star Eriksen suffer a similar cardiac arrest in their first Euro 2020 match against Finland.
He has since contacted Eriksen to assure him there is no reason he cannot make a full recovery and has offered to share his experiences to “help him deal with the trauma he has suffered”.
Muamba, 33, never played football again but says he leads a “normal life”, while he also became a father for the fourth time seven months ago.
He now works for the PFA as a player liaison delegate and was watching the Denmark-Finland match on TV when Eriksen, 29, suddenly fell to the turf.
The former England Under-21 international commented: “I just had a sick, empty feeling in the bottom of my stomach when it happened, because it was obvious he was going through the same thing as me.
“The worst part was seeing his wife on the pitch while he was being treated by the doctors and medics. It made me think about how my father was in the stands watching the game when I suffered my heart attack.
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I had what is basically a mini-defibrillator fitted. Sometimes it gives me a little shock if I am overdoing things.
Fabrice Muamba
“He had to rush down to be in the ambulance with me, although of course I never knew about that until afterwards.
“I sent Christian a message on WhatsApp wishing him a full and speedy recovery and saying I am available to speak about my experiences any time he wants to reach out to me.
“I was advised not to play football again because of the stress it placed on my heart. But I hope Christian’s problem is not so bad and that he will be given the all-clear to play.
“It took me a long time to come to terms with not playing and I still miss it — at 33, I think I could still be playing if this hadn’t happened to me.
“But otherwise I can lead a normal life. I had what is basically a mini-defibrillator fitted and I have check-ups every three months.
“Sometimes it gives me a little shock if I am overdoing things — about once every nine months or so — but otherwise you just get used to it.”
Muamba was speaking at the opening of Venturi Cardiology, a specialist heart clinic in Warrington, and said standards of care have improved enormously since his collapse.
He added: “If there was something good to come out of what happened to me, it is the fact there are so many more defibrillators around and trained medical staff. That can make all the difference.
“I see from my work with the PFA that the care at the top end of the game is brilliant now and we saw that with how quickly the medical team was there to help Christian.
“And it is good to see the Premier League is making millions available to provide more defibrillators at lower levels.
“I would like to see one at every match, as well as people trained in CPR — learning that was one of the first things I did when I got better, because that can save lives, too.”
Muamba is now one of the millions of football fans who are rooting for Denmark to continue their stirring progress in the Euros.
He explained: “I think they are everyone’s second favourite team now and it is great to see them playing such amazing football. I am sure Christian will be enjoying that.
“But if Denmark face England in the semi-finals it will be hard to keep supporting them, especially as someone who wore the three lions.
“Although maybe that would be a win-win situation. We’ll see.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
