Specialist: 'Fabrice Muamba return unlikely'

A leading heart specialist believes that Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba will be advised to retire from football.

Peter Weissberg, the Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, has suggested that Muamba's cardiac arrest, suffered during the FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham Hotspur on March 17, will mean that he can never be cleared to take to the field again.

"It is not possible to say but I think it is likely he would be advised not to play again because most conditions like this are a combination of physical activity and an inherent underlying tendency to have a cardiac arrest," he told Sports Mole.

"When you put those two together, that's what causes somebody to have a cardiac arrest.

"By and large if you avoid the heavy physical exercise of being a Premier League footballer, then there is less chance of a cardiac arrest coming."

Muamba, 23, remains at the London Chest Hospital, where he has made "encouraging progress" in recent days.