Muamba: Never say never

Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba has not ruled out the possibility of returning to play professional football as he continues his remarkable recovery from a cardiac arrest.Muamba collapsed in an FA Cup tie against Tottenham on March 17 and his heart stopped for 78 minutes. However, the 24-year-old's stunning recovery saw him discharged from hospital a month later and he took part in a short ceremony at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, prior to a charity match between Real Madrid and Manchester United legends."I am happy to be here and the fact is I continue to feel fine. I am improving slowly but surely," Muamba told AS."At the moment I am not doing exercise, I am just enjoying life and travelling. It is a great privilege to be able to live with the assistance of a respiratory machine or something like that. It is fantastic."I am making small steps every day. I am still being medicated and we will see what happens. I have to co-ordinate with my doctor and see what he says but I'll never say never."The former England Under-21 international also spoke of his recollection of the day he collapsed."The only thing I remember about the game is running back and falling," he said. "I felt dizzy whilst I was moving back, very dizzy."It was a strange sensation, I felt like I was running inside someone else's body and then I fell. My head hit the ground twice and I lost consciousness. I was dead."I didn't feel pain in my body or my head. I didn't feel anything. That happened on the Saturday and I didn't wake up until the Monday."I have never watched the video because I am not yet ready. Now I intend to enjoy life. It is a miracle that I can do things like travel. It is a miracle because I shouldn't even have lived, so everything that comes now is a bonus."

Source: PA