Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba was finally discharged from a London hospital on Monday following his recovery from a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
The 24-year-old was left fighting for his life after collapsing during the first half of Bolton’s FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham Hotspur on March 17, which was subsequently abandoned.
The Kinshasa-born star’s heart stopped for 78 minutes as medics battled to keep him alive at White Hart Lane and then at the London Chest Hospital, but he has since made rapid progress and will now be taking it easy with his family.
Photo: Reuters
“I am naturally very pleased to be discharged from hospital and would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to every single member of staff at the London Chest Hospital who have played a part in my care,” Muamba said in a statement. “Their dedication, professionalism and expertise is simply amazing and I will forever be in their debt. I also wish to say thank you to all the many well-wishers who have sent thousands of messages of support. Now I am out of hospital, I am looking forward to continuing my recovery and spending precious time with my family.”
A spokesman for the local health trust confirmed that Muamba had been discharged and that all the staff wished him the very best in his bid to return to playing soccer.
His discharge from hospital comes two days after the death of Italian player Piermario Morosini, aged just 25, who suffered a heart attack while playing for AS Livorno Calcio against Delfino Pescara 1936 in Serie B.
An autopsy on Morosini has proved inconclusive and his body was expected to be released back to his family.
No obvious cause of death was found during the procedure that lasted more than six hours on Monday.
“Now more in-depth examinations are needed, even of a toxicological nature,” of samples taken from the body, said coroner Cristian D’Ovidio, who carried out the autopsy.
Morosini’s body was expected to be released yesterday and taken to Livorno for a public viewing, so that fans can pay their final respects. There are also plans to carry the coffin around the club’s Estadio Armando Picchi.
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