Fabrice Muamba: Bolton midfielder set for minor heart operation

Fabrice Muamba, Olympic torch relay

Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba has travelled to Belgium to have a minor heart operation.

Muamba, 24, suffered a cardiac arrest during Bolton's FA Cup tie at Spurs on 17 March, with doctors saying he was "in effect dead" for 78 minutes.

The player spent a month in hospital, and was fitted with a device that can re-start his heart should it stop.

His latest surgery is routine and has no bearing on whether the player will return to action.

However, it is the next stage in his recovery from the cardiac arrest which saw him collapse on the pitch at White Hart Lane.

He was given 15 defibrillator shocks before his heart started beating again and he spent around four weeks in intensive care.

Muamba revealed earlier this month he had played football with friends while on holiday, and he has hopes he may make a possible playing return.

In July, he carried the Olympic flame as it made its way from Greenwich to Waltham Forest on day 64 of the torch relay.

He has been joined in Belgium by his partner Shauna, who used her Twitter account to thank well-wishers ahead of the operation.

"Thank you guys for the support," she tweeted. "If it is God's will Fabrice will play again, even better and stronger than before. Faith can move mountains."