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Tottenham's players were due to have heart screenings today, having demanded the tests after Fabrice Muamba collapsed at White Hart Lane on Saturday, leaving the Bolton midfielder fighting for his life.
The 23-year-old’s heart condition was today described as stable but he was still in a critical condition this morning in the Heart Attack Centre at the London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green.
Muamba’s father, Marcel, and his fiancee, Shauna, remain by his bedside. Bolton’s club doctor, Jonathan Tobin, is also at the hospital.
Bolton manager Owen Coyle and chairman Phil Gartside have been present regularly while Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe and Arsenal defender Johan Djourou, a former team-mate, have also visited.
Coyle said this afternoon that former England captain David Beckham had also sent messages of support from the United States.
Bolton’s Premier League match at Aston Villa, due to take place tomorrow, was postponed yesterday but Spurs’s fixture against Stoke is set to go ahead as planned on Wednesday.
Sports cardiologist Sanjay Sharma revealed he was due to travel to Spurs’s training ground in Chigwell, Essex, today, and it is thought the majority of the squad will take the opportunity to undergo cardiac tests in the light of Saturday’s events.
Sharma said he was already due to test “one or two players” at Tottenham on Monday, but added that now “the players have all demanded cardiac screening today”.
The standard cardiac screening procedure for elite athletes comprises both the ECG, the electrocardiogram that measures the electrical activity of the heart, and the echocardiogram, in which ultrasound is used to examine the heart.
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Stoke manager Tony Pulis had planned to speak to his Tottenham counterpart Harry Redknapp today to discuss whether to proceed with Wednesday’s match but the decision has been made to do so.
“What happened on Saturday to Fabrice Muamba was a shock to everyone,” said Redknapp. “It is possible the effects of this could hit some quicker than others and despite these difficult circumstances we all have to pull together and carry on with our season.
“We will be providing players with whatever support they need, while obviously always keeping Fabrice at the forefront of our minds and willing him to make a recovery.
“Fortunately, we already had a cardiologist visiting the training ground today for routine screening, so we are able to offer any player who wishes to be tested for the purpose of reassurance an additional opportunity to be screened.”
A new date for the FA Cup quarter‑final, which was abandoned in the 42nd minute after Muamba collapsed, has yet to be finalised as Bolton consider whether to withdraw from this season’s competition.
Saturday’s events were highly traumatic for players on both sides and it is understood Tottenham could offer counselling to their squad if the club felt the players required it or that it was in their best interests.
Speaking outside the hospital this afternoon, Coyle said: “He’s a natural fighter, a fit young man, so if that can be of help, it will be. We have to thank the hospital and the staff for how hard they’ve worked. Their skill is incredible. We hope how quickly everyone acted will help and we wait and hope for continued improvement.
“He is a lovely young man with such a fantastic smile and that’s what we want to see again. We are a family club and Fabrice is a huge part of that family. We’ve been very fortunate with the support all through the world. The stars of Real Madrid had messages of support on T-shirts, as did Gary Cahill, a friend and former team-mate of Fabrice. David Beckham has sent messages as well from across the Atlantic.
“That shows you the opinion people have of Fabrice as a person and it’s so humbling to see that. I’m sure that energy is driving him on hopefully for that recovery.”
Bolton’s club captain Kevin Davies travelled to hospital with Muamba on Saturday night. Asked whether the club would continue in the FA Cup this season, Davies said: “Any of those questions are irrelevant at the minute. The club will take a stance on it in the next couple of days but at the minute, we just want to try and help Fabrice.
“There have been sleepless nights. I have been in constant contact with the manager and the doctors so I can let everyone know what the situation is. The amount of people who were turning up, running around trying to get Fabrice sorted was amazing. There is no doubt in my mind that if it wasn’t for those people, we wouldn’t even be in this situation.”
Fans of both sides applauded Muamba off the pitch and supporters at other matches since have offered their own backing with a minute’s applause. Numerous scarves and other tributes from competing clubs have been left at the Reebok Stadium.
Davies is thankful for all of these. But there is a part of him that feels quite saddened.
“It is the first time in my nearly 19 years in the game that I have seen a stadium unite,” he said. “It was touching but I was lying in bed thinking how sad it was as well. As professionals, we work hard and make a lot of sacrifices. But it seems the only way you will get a ripple of applause away from your own ground is to get carried off on a stretcher. That is a sad state of affairs. Fans are quick to get off their seats if there is a mis-timed tackle.”
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, Muamba’s first club manager in England, added: “You pray the damage will be repaired and that Fabrice will come out healthy and we will see his smile again. That is all you wish for.”
On Saturday, Muamba’s heart stopped beating on its own for two hours as paramedics fought to resuscitate him. Cardiologist Dr Jan Till, a specialist in inherited cardiac diseases at the Royal Brompton Hospital, told Standard Sport that certain heart conditions were extremely difficult to detect.
She said: “It can happen to otherwise fit, young healthy people and there might not be any preceding symptoms. They are quite subtle to pick up even for someone who is actively looking.”