David Beckham Reaches Out to Critically Ill Footballer Fabrice Muamba
Soccer star David Beckham has reportedly reached out to Fabrice Muamba following reports that the 23-year-old Bolton Wanderers player is still in critical condition.
Bolton boss Owen Coyle confirmed that Beckham had offered his support after learning that Muamba collapsed during a match against Tottenham Hotspur.
"It shows the support for Fabrice as a person not just a footballer," Coyle told The Sun in UK.
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The midfielder suddenly collapsed after going into cardiac arrest during the FA Cup Quarter-Final, and doctors struggled to get his heart pumping on its own for several hours, according to reports.
Muamba, whose devastated fiancé, Shauna Muganda, 27, recently called for prayers, is currently at the London Chest Hospital where experts "very much in doubt" that he will ever resume his professional football career, according to CNN.
It has been reported that Muamba had no heartbeat for around seven minutes which has led to fears that he may have suffered from brain damage due to oxygen starvation to the brain.
Experts have praised paramedics for their timely response at treating Muamba, and Hammersmith Hospital's cardiologist, Dr. Iqbal Malik, believes they saved his life.
"The paramedics arrived immediately, the resuscitation attempt started immediately and the defibrillator, which is the life-saving maneuver, happened within a couple of minutes. Within the first three minutes if you can get the heart restarted, then you've got a good chance of survival," Malik told CNN.
"It may be that because he's young and fit he'll make a great recovery but the question is more about his brain than his heart. I think his heart will recover quickly from this...We want to see that he wakes up and starts communicating -- that's the next step," the doctor added.
Meanwhile his distraught finance recently took to Twitter to call for prayers for her husband to be.
"Everyone out there thank you so much for all the love and support. Collectively as a family we appreciate it all. Please continue to pray for fab. Fabrice WILL pull through because God is good," Muganda tweeted.
"Love you so much @fmuamba keep strong we're praying for u honey xx," she added.
