Astonishing insight into the traumatic events from White Hart Lane given by the Trotters’ club doctor.
Fabrice Muamba was ‘dead’ for 78 minutes – Bolton doctor
Fabrice Muamba was “in effect dead” for 78 minutes following his on-pitch collapse, Bolton Wanderers’ club doctor Jonathan Tobin has revealed.
Doctors say it is too early to predict whether he will ever play football again.
But Dr Tobin said he had been amazed by the 23-year-old’s recovery so far.
In an emotional interview, Dr Tobin said: “We were fearing the worse and didn’t think we’d get the recovery we had. It’s incredible.”
Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest in Wanderers’ FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Dr Tobin told BBC Sport’s Dan Roan how Bolton physio Andy Mitchell was the first to spot the player had collapsed.
The doctor recalled: “He screamed, ‘Get on the pitch, get on the pitch’. It was obvious something major was happening.”
He said Muamba was given two defibrillator shocks on the pitch, one in the players’ tunnel and a further 13 in the ambulance on the way to hospital but none worked.
SOURCE: BBC Sport
This is an incredible testament to the medical team that effectively saved Fabrice Muamba’s life after the Bolton midfielder had suffered a cardiac arrest during the FA Cup clash with Tottenham at White Hart Lane on the weekend.