He is no longer wowing fans in packed stadiums, but ex-footballer
Fabrice Muamba certainly enchanted the audience with another form
of footwork - on the dance floor.
Muamba, who survived a heart attack earlier this year, performed a
salsa routine with partner Aliona Vilani on the Strictly Christmas
dance contest which was aired on Tuesday, reported the Mirror.
Their dance was described by a judge as "incredible".
The former Bolton Wanderers star said: "Two weeks ago, I couldn't
perform ballroom dancing, but now I can. I've really enjoyed doing
the Strictly Christmas special. It was a lot of fun.
"I want to use what happened to me and turn it into something
positive."
He added: "You have to get up and go in life. Stopping football is
not the end of the world."
The 24-year-old had to hang up his competitive football boots after
suffering the heart attack during a Premiership game in
February.
His heart stopped beating for 78 minutes after he fainted, but he
has recovered to make a comeback - in a different arena.
Tough
training
Muamba learnt the salsa routine in two weeks of tough training
after doctors gave him the green light to compete in Strictly
Christmas.
He told The Sun about how he viewed quitting football.
"It's like driving. You reach a dead end, you reverse and move in a
different direction."
He added: "Of course I miss football. But I have a reason why I
couldn't carry on playing, and the most important things in my life
are my wife and son."
Muamba hopes his appearance on the show will inspire survivors of
cardiac arrest.
He said: "I want to spread the word about cardiac arrest and show
young people you can do anything you want, as long as you have the
right people around you and the right mentality."
In the end, Muamba and his partner came in second for the contest,
with top honours going to Jonathan "JB" Gill, who won the contest
with Ola Jordan.
