Muamba's Family Thank Bolton Supporters

23 March 2012, 12:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Fabrice Muamba's dad and fiancee have expressed their ``enormous gratitude'' to the Bolton and Tottenham medical teams.

Marcel Muamba and Shauna Magunda have praised the medical teams' quick reactions and also said thanks to the ``fantastic team'' caring for him at the London Chest Hospital.

The midfielder remains in intensive care after collapsing during an FA Cup match with Tottenham last Saturday.

His family has said in a statement: ``We would like to firstly thank God for answering our prayers. Thank you to everyone for the love, prayers and support over the past few days. We have been overwhelmed by all the kind messages we have received. The support we have had from the fans - not just from Bolton but football supporters around the world - has given us so much strength. We have been particularly touched by the support from the football community globally.''

They also thanked their family and close friends, urging everyone to ``keep him in your prayers'' saying ``Even though Fabrice has made great progress over the last couple of days, he is still in intensive care, and still has a long period of recovery ahead.''

The family's words of gratitude came after doctors revealed this week that the Congo-born player had in effect been dead for almost 80 minutes following his collapse, while his heart had no muscular beat and he failed to breathe.

There has been a huge outpouring of support for the player among football fans since the incident brought the game to a halt at White Hart Lane last weekend.