Fab opened his eyes, saw me and said: ‘All right, Nige..?’

Posted Saturday, March 24, 2012 by The Sun

Fab opened his eyes, saw me and said: ‘All right, Nige..?’
FIGHT FOR LIFE ... Bolton skipper watches as medics try to save his friend

"I was overjoyed just to see him, even though he's still in a serious situation."

Last Saturday seemed like any other match-day for Bolton manager Owen Coyle and his side, who were putting up a decent battle in the Cup tie and holding fancied Tottenham at 1-1.

A Gareth Bale own goal had given the visitors the lead after only six minutes, with Kyle Walker levelling for the Londoners five minutes later. There was all to play for.

Then, just after 6.10pm, everything changed and nobody will ever forget what happened next — least of all 27-year-old Reo-Coker.

He recalled: "There were no signs. Nothing. I remember shortly before it happened. I asked him, 'Do you want to swap positions? Do you want me to push on and you can do the deep role?' Fabrice just laughed and said 'No'.

"Then I remember him running back and collecting a half-clearance from one of our centre-backs.

"Next thing, I remember facing towards our right-back position and then I turned round and saw Fabrice on the floor.

"I thought maybe there had been a collision with a Tottenham player. But I realised there was no one close to him.

"He was shaking. I didn't know what it was.

"I thought that he might have been having a fit but I had not known him to have any fits or epilepsy. I didn't realise how serious it was until the physio got there and I tried to help him turn Fabrice over. That's when I realised it was serious."

More than 35,000 supporters looked on in disbelief as medics battled desperately to save Muamba.

Minutes later, back in the Bolton dressing room, there was a feeling of total devastation.

Reo-Coker declared: "It was very emotional. From the time he was on the pitch to being carried into the ambulance felt like a lifetime.

"We have a very young team and a lot of them were in tears. Young Ryo Miyaichi, everyone was in tears.

"There was nothing you could say to comfort each other. It was totally unexpected.

"One minute you're playing a game, the next Fabrice is lying there. No one saw it coming."

Reo-Coker has always been a natural leader. Wimbledon saw it when he was just 18 and appointed him their skipper.

He is currently wearing the armband for Wanderers in the absence of Kevin Davies, sidelined by a knee injury, so wanted to visit Muamba on behalf of the whole squad.

He reported back to them on Wednesday morning. He said: "I told the boys I'd seen Fabrice and had a conversation with him.

"It did feel like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. They feel a lot happier now.

"To see the miraculous recovery — he recognises his team-mates and family, he is talking and, the most important thing, he is alive.

"It lifts a big burden off the players."

Today, Reo-Coker will try to find the right words to get the Bolton players' minds back on football and their crunch relegation derby with Blackburn at the Reebok.

That team talk really could not be in better hands.

He explained: "For me, this has been a life-changing experience. It just shows how precious life is. Personally, I am ready to go. I know I will be fine. I am just making sure the young players are ready.

"This is a big game, a six-pointer and for now we are going to play for Fabrice."

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