Fabrice Muamba admits he finds football ‘hard to watch’

By DOMINIC FARRELL
Published on 16/10/2012 00:00

Fabrice Muamba says that watching football is a frustrating experience after he was forced to retire from the game.

The former England Under-21 midfielder made a miraculous recovery after suffering a cardiac arrest during Bolton’s FA Cup tie at Tottenham in March, when his heart stopped for 78 minutes. Although he did not immediately rule out a return to playing, the 24-year-old quit on the eve of the current season on medical advice and it has now been revealed that he suffered a second, brief heart scare while on holiday this summer.

Muamba was back at the Reebok Stadium yesterday to promote ‘Hearts and Goals’ – a campaign run in association with Wanderers, the Arrhythmia Alliance and the Heart Rhythm Charity that aims to prevent death from sudden cardiac arrests. He has also cast an eye over his former team-mates’ struggles so far in the npower Championship this term, but said: “I find it hard to watch football sometimes. I question myself, ‘why me?’, but at the same time, I just enjoy life.

An incident on holiday in France saw the mini-defibrillator implanted in his chest administered an electrical jolt to correct an irregular heartbeat, but he said this was not a decisive factor in his retirement.

“My defibrillator just kicked in for about ten seconds, which I was told to be ready for,” he said.

“You can tell because it’s like an electric shock and everything just stops for a second. You have to get yourself together and get going again.”