SOCCER NEWS:BOLTON will decide today whether they will play Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League on Saturday.
Life has been on hold at the Reebok Stadium since Saturday evening, when midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest at Tottenham.
Medical staff at White Hart Lane and at the London Chest Hospital took two hours to get Muamba’s heart working again, although the 23-year-old has made huge improvements since, to the point where he has been able to speak some words, in both French and English.
Members of Bolton’s squad visited their team-mate yesterday, along with their manager Owen Coyle, who has seen Muamba every day since his collapse.
Coyle will assess their mood after a planned return to training today and be in a position to decide whether to confirm a fixture that could have huge implications for Bolton’s chances of staying in the Premier League.
Although the belief is that Bolton are going to play, Coyle admitted yesterday that focusing on the match has been impossible.
“That’s not something of great importance to me at this moment in time,” said Coyle. “In the course of today, as we hope and pray that Fabrice continues to improve, that’s something we will have to look at.
“My thoughts are that we will have the group back in training tomorrow and we will look at it from then. The one concern we all have is for Fabrice only.”
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore revealed his organisation was in contact with Bolton regarding the Blackburn fixture, adding: “We’ll take it literally on a daily basis. Clearly by Sunday lunchtime, we knew the players weren’t going to be fit to want to play tonight (against Aston Villa).
“We’ll check the situation again today, check the situation again tomorrow, and we’ll just see how things develop.”
After their extensive update on Muamba’s progress on Monday, the London Chest Hospital were less forthcoming yesterday.
“Fabrice Muamba has had a comfortable night in the intensive care unit at The London Chest Hospital, where the medical team is continuing to monitor his progress,” read a statement.
It means many questions about Muamba’s long-term situation remain unanswered, not least whether he will ever play again.
“It’s very early in the process and the doctors have stressed that, so we all know what’s involved,” added Coyle.
“Fabrice still has a long way to go but theres encouraging signs and whilst that is the case it’s really positive. We could never have envisaged the improvement Fabrice has made from Saturday.”
