There was a tingling sensation up and down my spine

Posted Thursday, March 29, 2012 by The Sun

There was a tingling sensation up and down my spine
LOOKING UP ... Nigel Reo-Coker wears T-shirt in support of Fabrice Muamba at the Lane

NIGEL REO-COKER has revealed how he suffered from flashbacks when Bolton's FA Cup quarter-final fate was decided at White Hart Lane.

The Wanderers captain even felt compelled before kick-off to visit the spot on the pitch where team-mate Fabrice Muamba collapsed from a cardiac arrest 10 days before.

Muamba, 23, is making slow but steady progress at the London Chest Hospital.

And Reo-Coker, a big pal of his fellow midfielder, admitted all the horrific memories of the abandoned tie came flooding back.

Following Bolton's 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Tottenham, he said: "You could call it flashbacks.

"And that's why I had to walk over to the spot before the game to get it out of my system.

"And speaking to the club doctor, even he said he felt weird.

"I can't speak for the rest of the lads. I can only speak of my experience.

"But it was a day of very mixed emotions and I will never in my life be able to sum up in words the emotions I went through here."

Bolton were ready to pull out of the re-arranged game but Muamba's remarkable progress after his heart stopped for 78 minutes persuaded them to go ahead as the midfielder's family wished.

Reo-Coker, 27, was relieved his team-mates stood up to the harrowing ordeal but reckons it might take years for everyone who played to get over it.

He added: "We had to face our fears. We had to eventually come back here and play so we had to face it sooner or later.

"We have a young team and I felt they dealt with it very well.

"There were a lot of emotions during the previous league game against Blackburn last Saturday.

"Of course, there are different emotions for the cup tie because this is where the incident occurred.

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