Twitter picture of Fabrice Muamba shows recovery

Two weeks ago, he lay on the football pitch with six doctors working desperately to try and help him. His heart was stopped for seventy eight minutes. Now a picture of Fabrice Muamba shows how far he has come.

The photo of the smiling Bolton Wanderers mid-fielder sitting up in his hospital bed was posted on social network site Twitter by his fiancee Shauna Magunda. She wrote: "Fab wanted me to post this pic for you all and to also say thank you for such overwhelming support." Twitter has been inundated with messages of support for the footballer since the picture was posted. Digital Journal reported on the day that fans, fellow players and thousands of people watching on television stared in horror as the 23-year-old suddenly collapsed just before half time in a match between Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur. Among those who rushed to help him was a cardiologist who happened to be watching the match. Fabrice Muamba has made steady progress since he was carried on a stretcher from the ground to the nearby London Chest Hospital. Many people thought that the young player was unlikely to wake up from the induced coma into which the hospital put him. But he had other ideas. Within 48 hours of the incident he was awake and breathing without a ventilator. He has made steady progress with the support of Shauna, his family, friends and fellow players. However, he has a long way to go to full recovery. The Guardian reports that according to Peter Weissberg, the medical director of the British Heart Foundation, the former England Under-21 player may never play professional football again. It would seem that this young man is made of strong stuff and will no doubt continue, with the help of the dedicated staff at the London Chest Hospital, to make slow and steady progress. He certainly has support from fans around the world with messages of support and demonstrations of support by football teams such as Real Madrid and Chelsea, amongst others.