Muamba 'stable' but remains critically illBy | Monday, March 19  2012 at  18:07

Bolton's Fabrice Muamba's heart condition is "stable" - but he remains critically ill in intensive care.

The midfielder, 23, is at the London Chest Hospital's heart attack centre after suffering a cardiac arrest during Saturday's FA Cup tie at Tottenham.

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside and manager Owen Coyle visited the player on Monday morning.

Gartside said: "I ask for everybody to keep Fabrice in their prayers and thoughts."

In a statement on the club's website, Gartside added: "The staff at the London Chest Hospital have been nothing short of exceptional and I would like to thank them all at this ongoing critical time.

"The support that we had from Tottenham and our own fans was fantastic - the staff, the fans, the players and the officials at the game - it was unbelievable."

Muamba's fiancee Shauna Magunda, the mother of his son Joshua, has thanked well-wishers for their support.

Source of strength

"Where there is life there is hope," she tweeted  on Monday.

Earlier she said: "Please keep praying for Fabrice, it's really helping I can feel it."

Speaking outside the hospital on Sunday, Bolton manager Owen Coyle said: "From our end, and on behalf of the family, we certainly want to say thanks to everybody.

"Everybody is praying for Fabrice which is very important and that has been a real source of strength to the family.

"We know it's such a difficult time for everybody involved, our thoughts are with Fabrice's family."

Coyle had earlier stated: "It's very serious. There's no getting away from that. God willing, he makes it through."

Bolton's Premier League game at Aston Villa on Tuesday has been postponed.

Medics spent six minutes trying to resuscitate the former England Under-21 international on the pitch after he fell to the ground with no other players around him.

Abandoned

The score was 1-1 when the quarter-final was abandoned after 41 minutes.

The Press Association reports that it took medical staff two hours to get Muamba breathing again.

The hospital said in a statement on Sunday: "Fabrice received prolonged resuscitation at the ground [White Hart Lane] and en route to the London Chest Hospital, where his heart eventually started working. His condition continues to be closely monitored by the cardiac specialists."

Members of Muamba's family and his fiancee have been attending the hospital.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement: "Our thoughts are with Fabrice's family and Bolton Wanderers, and we are all willing him to pull through. Events such as this put everything into perspective.

"We are immensely proud and grateful to the medical teams at both clubs, their response was immediate and professional. Our thanks also to both sets of fans for their support and behaviour.

Human empathy

"Too often we read the negatives about football and yet last night, at a time of intense emergency and uncertainty, we saw the true humanity and empathy of the footballing family."

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp added: "Football is the last thing on anyone's mind when an awful situation such as this happens. All we are thinking about now is Fabrice and his family."

Medical staff gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to Muamba, who was born in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) but moved to England aged 11, and tried to revive him with a defibrillator.

In total, six medics were treating the player, who joined Wanderers from Birmingham in 2008 and has made 148 appearances for the club.

Both sets of supporters chanted Muamba's name as he was taken off the pitch on a stretcher.

Referee Howard Webb called the visibly shaken players off the field after consulting with Coyle and Redknapp. After Muamba had been taken to hospital, the match was abandoned.

The former Arsenal midfielder was accompanied in the ambulance by Coyle and club captain Kevin Davies.